Book II: Celsius Hero
by BluexKatsuko
Summary: After five years, Mizuha Hyōmei is finally striding forward. Now, as a U.A. student, she's finally using her Quirk at its full potential and striving to be the Hero she wants to be. But when the darkness starts creeping closer, and the chains begin to tighten around her, Mizuha realizes that she isn't done facing obstacles in her path.
1. Chapter 1: Celsius

Loud tapping on the window could be heard in the poorly lit room. The power was gone due to the terrible weather of the night. The only source of light was provided from the five candles that were placed on a rather large table, and each one was set in front of a certain person that was seated at the table.

The five figures at the table silently observed one another. It was completely silent. Their dinner had been paused.

"What are we doing? Is this, really right?"

"Of course, it is! Everyone is happy!"

"But at what cost?! Being slaves to a single man?!"

"Let's think about this... he has granted us what we desired... this is what we wanted. So, of course it's right."

"Please... just... can we just set this aside?"

"What we've been seeking is finally in place! Can't you see that?"

"That doesn't justify murder!"

"They went against him, they were a threat to what we worked so hard to achieve!"

"Yet we remain shackled in chains to commit his deeds."

"If only..."

That night, the clouds were beginning to darken, there were signs of an upcoming storm and strikes of lightning as the rain started pouring heavily. The sun was beginning to become less and less present as time passed.

* * *

Mizuha aggressively shook her umbrella to try and shake off as much water as possible. Rainy weather was always the worst. It was like playing hopscotch in the rain to try and avoid those gigantic puddles that blocked all your possible paths. It's as if whatever god in charge pouring the rain on earth was bored out of his mind and just wanted to watch humans try and avoid water, like as if they were some kind of TV show.

The girl literally threw her umbrella in the spot available in the rack closest to her class' lockers.

Annoyed first thing in the morning. What a great start.

For once, she arrived at school a little later than usual. Apparently, the rain caused her bus to arrive a later than usual causing this chain of effect to happen. It was hell in that bus since the waiting line started getting pretty long. She could still feel the irritation she felt when someone shook their umbrella in front of her seat. It made her want to press the button on her umbrella while directing it at the other passenger's face.

When she entered the classroom and closed the door behind her, she heard her name.

"Hyoumei!"

Mizuha blinked, immediately recognizing their voice and looking straight at them. Kirishima was the one to call her out. He was already seated in his seat and he looked like he was talking with Ashido, Sero, Tsuyu and floating- uh Hagakure.

Mizuha waved at him.

"Ne, ne! Hyoumei! Come here!" Ashido called while gesticulating her hand cheerfully.

Maybe she didn't have to worry to much about leeching off of Byakuren after all. It seemed like a certain classmate was already helping her stand on her two feet.

...

...

...

"We're having a special Hero informatics class today. Code names. You'll be coming up with Hero names."

The class instantly reacted.

"We're gonna do something exciting!"

Mizuha slumped in her seat, _Oh god..._

She needed to come up with name that would identify her? What if she hated her name? Could she still change it? Thinking of a name right now seemed already hard enough. How can everyone be so pumped up about it?

Their excitement was brief. Seeing Aizawa activated his Quirk made everyone quiet down in their seats, not wanting to face whatever he had in store if they continued acting all excited that way. Mizuha was near the front and seeing her teacher's eyes glow red somehow reminded her of a demon in front of its prey. Weird.

"This is related to the Pro Hero draft picks I mentioned the other day. The drafts begin in earnest in the second and third years, after students have gained experience and can become immediate assets to the Pros. In other words, for them to extend offers to first years like you shows that they are interested in your future potential. These offers a cancelled if that interest dies down by graduation.

Mizuha felt nervous all of a sudden. She actually didn't want to know if she made a good impression or not... she didn't want to be disappointed if the results weren't as good as she hoped.

"So we'll have to prove ourselves once we get picked, huh?" wondered Hagakure.

"That's right. And here are the totals for those with offers." Aizawa pulled out a remote, pointed it at the blackboard and pressed a button.

 **CLASS A NO. OF OFFERS**

 **Todoroki - 4123**  
 **Bakugo - 3556**  
 **Hyoumei - 1500**  
 **Tokoyami - 360**  
 **Iida - 301**  
 **Kyouran - 290**  
 **Kaminari - 272**  
 **Yaoyorozu - 108**  
 **Kirishima - 68**  
 **Uraraka - 20**  
 **Sero - 14**

Mizuha silent stared at her number. She got exactly a thousand and five hundred offers. Perhaps she could have gotten more offers if not for her mistake in her first match.

"In other years, it's been more spread out, but all eyes were on these three this year."

"Gah, there's such a big difference!" exclaimed Kaminari, throwing his head back.

"Those Pros don't know a good thing when they see one!"

"Todoroki's first... Bakugo's second... Hyoumei's third?"

"Except for Hyoumei, it's the complete opposite of their placement in the Sports Festival." realized Kirishima after remembering the final results of the event.

"I guess some people are too scared to ask for a guy who had to be restrained on the podium."

This remark from Sero did not go unheard by mister first place, who immediately twisted in his chair and snapped at the boy, "What're the pros scared of?!"

Mizuha sweat dropped, _your personality perhaps?_

But she honestly didn't know what to think of the results. She figured she should be happy she at least got a big number but she couldn't help but wonder how many more she could have gotten if she didn't act rude towards Mokuen. Public image seemed to be very important. Bakugo served as proof.

"Keeping these results in mind…" the black-haired teacher brought back the attention to the front. "Whether or not anyone asked for you, you will all be participating in internships with Pros."

"Internships?"

"Yeah. At USJ, you already got to experience combat with real Villains, but it will still be meaningful training for you to see Pros at work firsthand." he explained.

"So that explains the Hero names!"

"Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!"

"Well, those Hero names are still temporary."

Mizuha let out a sigh of relief, "Thank god..." she muttered to herself.

"Though you have to be serious about it. If you're not-" Aizawa was suddenly cut off by the classroom door opening.

"... You'll have hell to pay later!" a womanly voice finished.

Midnight was the one who spoke but she wasn't alone. She was followed by a certain slouching teacher with dull eyes; in other words, her uncle.

"Because a lot of Hero names used by students become recognized by society, and they end up becoming professional Hero names!" Midnight explained while walking in a rather... suggestive way.

Eijin scoffed, "So unless you want to known as something ridiculous and embarrassing, you'd better come up with good names. Trust me, there have been those who came up with the worst names, and guess what? They are still called that much to their dismay."

Eijin and Midnight both stood at the front of the class.

"Well, that's how it is. Midnight and Joker is here to make sure your names are okay." Aizawa reached down, "I can't do stuff like that." he pulled out his infamous sleeping bag.

"When you give yourself a name, you get a more concrete image of what you want to be like in the future, and you can get closer to it. That is what it me they say 'names and nature often agree'. Like 'All Might', for example."

With that, Aizawa retired and allowed Midnight and Joker to take over.

"Alright, we'll be handing you markers and white boards, so pass them along." Joker instructed. Midnight handed the whiteboards to the front of the rows while Joker distributed the markers.

Just as he passed by Mizuha's desk, she grabbed his wrist and stared up at him with desperate eyes, "Uncle..." she whined, "I don't know what to come up with." she admitted in a low voice. She was starting to feel the pressure of coming up with a good name and she was not handling it very well.

Her uncle grinned at her, and she released his wrist. He patted her shoulder with his free hand once he placed a marker on her desk, "Don't worry, you have plenty of time." he assured her before continuing his distribution.

Mizuha frowned.

The two teachers allowed the students to come up with names for a certain period of time. The squeaking against the whiteboards and the occasional whispering between Midnight and Joker were the sounds heard in the classroom. And during the whole time, Mizuha's marker remained closed in front of her.

She understood that it had to be linked with her Quirk.

She didn't want her name to be a phrase. If she could just come up with a name with one word or two then it would be perfect. Was there even a name like that? Maybe she could come up with something related to water?

... Leviathan? No... if she remembered correctly, there was already a hero who claimed that name.

Bubbles, wait no.

Eijin, from his spot at the front, watched his niece with amusement. It looked like she was having an internal struggle. She was probably having her own big bang theory inside her head.

...

...

...

"Okay, let's start presenting names, starting with those who are ready," announced Midnight.

Mizuha's mouth dropped open. She didn't even write anything yet!

Then, Aoyama stood up from his seat and walked to the front of the class, not hesitating one bit in his decision to be the ice breaker.

"Here I go…"

 _You know... maybe this guy could actually come up with a cool name-_

"The Shining Hero: I Can Not Stop Twinkling! Which means: you can't stop my sparkles!"

 _Never mind. And he actually made a dang sentence!_

Joker stared at his whiteboard with his arms crossed, "... Seems quite long don't you think?"

"Non, I think it's fine."

"In that case..." Midnight picked up his whiteboard and started writing on it, ""It'll be easier to use if you take out the 'I' and shorten the 'can not' to 'can't'."

"You're right, mademoiselle," Aoyama agreed.

Joker stared at the name silently before uttering a word, "Sure." he still thought it was too long.

Ashido got up from her seat and skipped towards the front, "Alright, I'm next! Hero name: Alien Queen!"

"A-Are you trying for the thing with acidic blood?" asked Midnight, horrified. "I wouldn't if I were you!"

Dejected, Ashido walked back to her seat.

Then it was Tsuyu's turn.

"I've had this in mind ever since I was in elementary school. Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."

"That's so cute! It seems friendly. I like it! It's a great example of a name that everyone will love! What do you think, Joker?"

Mizuha looked at her blank whiteboard.

 _... what can I come up with?_

...

...

...

"Ehh, well I really couldn't choose. So I put: Vortex and Tempest." Byakuren smiled while showing his whiteboard to the class.

"I like Tempest!"

"Vortex sounds cool!"

Mizuha snickered, "Call yourself Hurricane Irma."

Byakuren shot her a tired look.

Joker opened a marker, "If I were to choose... I'd pick Tempest, but that alone sounds too plain so..." he tapped the marker against his chin several times, then stopped when he suddenly got an idea, he started writing on Byakuren's board.

"Tempesta." he revealed the name, "It's the same thing but in Italian. In my opinion, there isn't really a big difference but it sounds better than Tempest and Vortex. What do you think?"

Byakuren nodded, pleased with his revamped hero name.

...

...

...

Now, there was only a few more people who hadn't shown their hero names. Iida, Midoriya, Bakugo and Mizuha. The class and the two teachers were patiently waiting for them while reminding them about the time.

Mizuha groaned in frustration. _This is even harder than exams! Todoroki used his first name. Maybe I can-_

 _Wait._

 _Maybe..._

Mizuha wasted no time in taking off the cap of her marker, not wanting the name to disappear before she was able to write it down. She wrote it clearly in letters and not in katakana. When she finished writing the last letter, she slowly moved away her marker and stared at the name on the board.

 _Yeah, that sounds right. I like it!_

She looked up with a grin. Joker, who was watching her while leaning on the desk, grinned back at her and tapped the wooden desk, telling her to come up and show the name she had written down. Mizuha didn't even bother raising her hand she went straight to the front.

Joker moved away and allowed her to step behind the desk.

"So, Mizuha. What did you come up with?" Joker asked, trying to peek at her board.

Mizuha turned up her whiteboard, revealing her hero name to the class.

"Celsius. Water States Hero: Celsius."

Joker's eyebrows shot up, "Hey, that's pretty smart." he commented.

Midnight nodded, "It embodies your Quirk perfectly!"

Mizuha bashfully scratched her cheek with her index finger.

* * *

With the names finalized, Aizawa woke up from his nap and took over the podium.

"Now that everyone's decided on their Hero names, we'll go back to talking about the internships They will last for a week. As for where you'll have them, those who had offers from Pros will be given your own lists, so you can choose from those yourself. Those who didn't have offers will choose from among forty agencies around the country that will be accepting our interns. They all work in different places and have different specialties."

"For example, Thirteen would be focused on rescues from accidents and disasters more than fighting Villains." explained Midnight.

"Or," interjected Joker, "You can choose a place that doesn't necessarily focus on things your Quirk is most suited for. A Hero needs to have more than one trick up their sleeve. A versatile hero can be pretty good." he advised.

"Think carefully before you choose." Aizawa finally added before distributing the papers.

"Turn in your choices before the weekend."

"We've only got two days to pick!?" Sero said, feeling pressured.

"Make your decision efficiently. Dismissed." the black-haired teacher said before exiting the classroom with his two colleagues.

Mizuha picked up her paper and started checking the names printed on it. She was able to recognize a few of the agencies remember where they were located. One of the agencies happen to be one that was nearby the incident that happened five years ago.

There first twenty names didn't seem to really call out to her.

She actually wanted to follow her uncle's suggestion about being versatile. He was definitely right about how versatile heroes weren't so bad. After all, he was one.

Mizuha's eyes widened at a certain name.

 _Isn't that..._

* * *

 **Sorry if the first chapter was a little boring but I wanted to start off easy while in a way explain the name of Book II. It's pretty obvious now why I called it Celsius Hero. What do you think of her Hero name?**

 **If anyone is curious whether or not I will include the movie... YES I WILL. I WATCHED IT IN THEATERS. HOW COULD I NOT?!**

 **Anyway, let me know what you thought in a review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Internship

Mizuha clearly wrote her choice on the sheet of paper she was given, she wrote it very clearly with almost a noble's handwriting, not wanting the teachers to misread anything and make a mistake by sending her choice to the wrong agency. Looking at any other agencies was totally out of the question once her mind was made up. Sure, she had offers from more renowned offices but she just didn't want to go there. Therefore, she left her two other choices blank. It shouldn't be a problem considering how the agency she chose offered to let her do her internship there, it was practically guaranteed that she would receive some sort of confirmation from them.

Mizuha tapped her pen on her lips, _... or maybe I could choose another? That place isn't the only agency I could go to... It just happens to be the one I know..._

She shrugged. As long as she could exploit and nurture some skills then she thought it was fine. The mere idea of being able to nurture these skills was making her very eager for her internship.

She pulled out a light blue plastic folder, in which she kept most of her school papers (and maybe a few a drawings) and neatly tucked in the paper inside the right pocket.

 _I guess I'll swing by the teachers' office after school to give it to Aizawa-sensei._

The first lessons of the day went smoothly. When the sound of the bell sounded in the school, indicating the start of lunch period, Mizuha quickly packed up her things and put them away in their appropriate places. As she got up from her seat, she snatched her backpack from its resting place and dashed off to the girls' comfort room as part of her daily routine. It didn't take her too long to do her business as there wasn't anyone there when she reached the bathroom.

With her bag on her back, she casually walked into the cafeteria that was gradually starting to fill with students. As per usual, the table she usually sat at with Byakuren and Kirishima was available for use. Mizuha wasted no time in rushing to the table and taking her seat in her usual spot.

Seeing as she was the only person sitting there, she figured Kirishima and her old friend were in line ordering food or on their way to the line. The girl pulled out her phone from her pocket and set it on the table before zipping her bag open and digging for the plastic bag containing her lunch.

This time, instead of waffles, she asked her mom to prepare two pancakes dressed with maple syrup that were both divided into four pieces. She placed her phone on her bag, placed her headphones on her head, and then started munching on her first piece. Her eyes stayed glued on her screen as she mechanically ate her lunch. She was no longer conscious about the time around her.

"And, what did I tell you? Miss Ice Queen is right here." she heard a voice, despite having both her ears covered.

With a piece of pancake trapped between her lips, she tapped her screen and paused the video she was watching, and proceeded to remove the headphones off her head and rested them around her neck. Then, she looked around her to see the person talking about her.

She spotted Byakuren walking past her with a smile and then she saw Kirishima pulling out the chair next to her with a boyish grin.

Suddenly conscious about the fact that her bag was obstructing the space on the table, she quickly gathered her bag and set it down, but kept her plastic bag that contained her small container and juice box.

"Shuuhri." She apologized, voice muffled because of the pancake.

Then she noticed that the chair next to Byakuren get pulled out. Curiously, she looked at the newcomer while taking in the pancake in her mouth completely and chewing on it.

"I hope you don't mind, I asked Bakugo to join us!" Kirishima said cheerfully.

Said boy then realized who Kirishima was talking to, and he instantly froze, glaring at her.

Mizuha's right eye twitched. _Already got beef with me?! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU?!_

"You didn't tell me that Mole Face was going to be here!" Bakugo snapped at the redhead next to her even after he took his seat.

Byakuren covered his mouth, "Pfft~ Mole Face?"

Mizuha shot the white haired boy an exasperated look, debating whether or not she should kick his leg.

"Come on, Bakugo. Don't be like that!" Kirishima complained.

"Shut up! I'll be whatever the hell I want!"

 _... I'll probably get a migraine if he continues yelling._

Mizuha sighed with a small frown, "I don't own this table, so it's fine." she responded to the boy next to her.

Seated, Kirishima smiled and then peeked at her lunch. It seemed like she was eating pancakes today, that was new. He was always curious about why she ate packed lunches… that didn't look like lunch. Lunch Rush's food wasn't bad, so why?

"What's with that shitty lunch?"

That wasn't Kirishima.

Mizuha looked at Bakugo, as if she was asking him if he was really talking to her. She quirked up an eyebrow and then took a bite out of her pancake.

"Pancakes out of a box." She answered while chewing.

"No shit. It looks like it came out of a box." He responded without missing a beat.

Mizuha instantly frowned, "Then. Don't. Fucking. Ask."

Byakuren's eyes widened, then he looked at Kirishima who was looking shocked and a little alarmed. Bakugo was about to retort until Byakuren cleared his throat loudly. The white haired boy quickly clapped his hands together, "Alright! Kids, enough!"

Bakugo snapped at him while Mizuha reached across and harshly flicked his forehead. Byakuren yelped and then pouted as he started rubbing the abused spot on his skin.

"Bakugo's right though… you gotta start eating better. Why don't you try Lunch Rush's food?" he asked," It's pretty damn good compared to our middle school." He assured her.

Mizuha shrugged and swallowed her last piece, "Meh, we'll see. I have my reasons… and you know I have trust issues with school food." she explained, "It always looked so nasty." she added, remembering how she swore she saw the food twitch once.

Kirishima lifted up his bowl for her to see, "Oh come on! Doesn't this look good?!"

Mizuha looked at Kirishima's bowl. There was the main asian food (rice) and some seasoned beef on the side. It did look pretty tasty. There more seconds she spent looking at it the more she felt enticed about the idea of eating school food for once. She glanced at Bakugo's tray, noticing how his food looked just as good. Then she looked at Byakuren's tray. She could feel herself salivating.

Mizuha jutted out her lip and looked at her empty container, "... yeah it does." she admitted.

 _But I have my reasons..._

As if he was the voice of her thoughts, her started to explain, "She'd rather starve than not have time to study, to work or… well she also just doesn't like eating in front of people."

The girl reddened, "Hey! Let's change the subject!" she said quickly, wanting to erase Byakuren's previous statement about her lunch habits.

The boy next to her titled his head to the side, "Why don't you like eating in front of—" then he understood after remembering a previous conversation with Byakuren.

"Oh."

She was shy and that shyness was creating these bad habits. That's very bad.

Byakuren scoffed, before shoving a piece of meat in his mouth and kept the ends of his chopsticks in his mouth, "Yeah, but you should see her when we're at the restaurant. She can finish a medium size bowl of Pho. Sometimes a large one, too."

Mizuha rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes, now please stop talking about my eating habits and start eating your own lunch. I'm already done." she said before pulling out her juice box.

Byakuren stared at her with lazy light purple hues before shutting them and shrugging, resuming in worshiping his food through the act of eating. Kirishima followed in suit but not before asking Bakugo which agency he was planning on going to for next week's internship.

"Best Jeanist." He answered, gruffly before shoving the piece of meat caught between his chopsticks into his mouth.

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Best Jeanist was currently the No.4 Hero in Japan. Needless to say, she was impressed that a big shot like him asked for mister I-don't-want-first-place-so-I'll-act-crazy-on-the-podium. Perhaps there was Pro Heroes who didn't care about public image? Maybe they wanted to see his strength in person or something. She didn't know. All she knew is that Bakugo caught the attention of a well-known Hero.

Impressed, Byakuren whistled, "Damn, color me impress. I guess you're definitely worth the attention."

Bakugo turned his head towards the boy next to him, and scoffed, "Damn straight, I'm going to be number one so I'll be getting all the attention!"

Kirishima immediately perked up, "I'm aiming to fight in urban cities so I chose Fourth Kind's agency!"

The white haired boy gave him a close eyed smile, "Good choice, Kirishima. As for me, I'm heading to Nagano for my internship." He said, "What about you, Mizuha?"

"Ehh~ an agency somewhere in the Kansai region." she replied without exactly revealing the exact location.

Byakuren raised an eyebrow at Mizuha. He had expected her to give her a precise answer… but she didn't. He couldn't help but wonder if she was still acting shy or if she was doing this on purpose to mess with him. She knew how curious he could get about certain things…

Byakuren lowered his hands on the table, "Mie."

"Nope."

"Shiga."

"Nah."

"Osaka."

"Pfft, no."

"Hyōgo?!"

"Geez, stop asking already. I'm not going to tell you."

"OSAKA?"

"You're annoying."

"Kyo- hmmpff?!"

Before he could complete the name of the prefecture, a napkin found its way into his mouth. There was a three second pause. The boy jerked away from Mizuha's hand, taking the napkin with him and he started spiting out the pieces that were stuck to his tongue due to being soaked with his saliva.

Mizuha laughed at the entertaining sight, pointing out the highlights of his reaction. The sound of Mizuha's laughter immediately caught Kirishima's attention. He too was laughing at Byakuren, enjoying the usual exchange between the two friends but was quick to realize he wasn't the only one laughing. Now, in no way did he think Mizuha's was a girl with a heart of stone but it was just surprising to see her laugh for the first time, especially now that she was becoming sincere. Seeing her enjoying herself like this compared to how silent and straight faced she used to be just a few days ago was definitely a good sign.

"Hyoumei, you're laughing!" he exclaimed happily before throwing an arm around her shoulders.

An irritated vein became noticeable on Bakugo's temple as he finished the remnants of his lunch.

* * *

Byakuren left school without waiting for Mizuha. Apparently, his little sister had no school today so he had to go pick her up from school and… like babysit her at home. She was nine years younger than him so she was in elementary school. Mizuha has never met her in person but she knew of her existence… and the trouble she caused Byakuren while growing up. Let's just say he was constantly blamed for things he didn't do.

Mizuha noticed how the teachers' office door was slightly open, she could have just opened it right there but she figured that would have been rude…

She suddenly broke out in sweat when she remembered how she didn't knock on the first day when Aizawa-sensei wanted to see her after school. Her mind started overthinking, causing her to feel little stressed and making her skin feel a little hot.

 _What if Yamada-sensei and Aizawa-sensei thought I was rude that day?! Oh god… what if-_

Her attention was then brought to the sound and the movement of the office door opening in front of her. She nearly jumped away out of surprise. Her head tilted slightly to the side when she saw a familiar face in front of her.

"Iida?"

She saw his own surprise in his eyes at the sight of her unexpected appearance.

"Oh, Hyoumei-kun. I suppose you're here to hand in your form?" he inquired.

"Ah... yeah." she answered slowly.

The boy nodded, "That's good. It is best not to wait until the last minute to decide. I hope you made the right choice."

Despite sounding like a good class representative, commending her on being organized and stuff. She couldn't help but feel… concerned for him. Five years of spending her time being an observer and watching people from a distance, she became acute in noticing particular patterns that were linked to certain behaviors and emotions. And right now, she was seeing something that didn't belong to the class rep's normal behavior. The news about Iida's older brother, Ingenium, reached everyone's ears during the two-day break thanks to the news. Hero Killer Stain got to him and it was stated that his brother was, unfortunately, beyond recovery. That was the reason why Iida had left before she and Tokoyami couldn't have their decisive battle with him.

As Ingenium's little brother, there is no doubt that the boy was affected by this.

She didn't want to pry too much into his business, out of fear of triggering something unpleasant… but she had to ask…

"Um, Iida... you alright?"

The boy smiled reassuringly, "If it's about my brother, don't worry. However, I do appreciate your concern, Hyoumei-kun."

With that, Mizuha nodded slowly before stepping out of his way and letting him get past her. Maybe it was just her imagination…?

Mizuha stared at Iida's back as he began walking away from the teachers' office.

"Hyoumei, come in." that was her homeroom teacher.

Upon hearing her name, the girl entered the office and started walking to his desk. As she did so, she brought her bag in front of her and fished for her folder where her form was safely kept. When she got to his desk, she pulled out the sheet of paper and held it out for her teacher.

"That was fast."

He glanced at her paper, "I suppose that you are following your uncle's footsteps."

"... is that bad?"

"No, I wouldn't say bad. A hero should have more tricks up their sleeve. Just try not to follow him to become an exact replica."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I know that."

* * *

Disobeying the rules of the hallways, she ran all the way down to the entrance floor. She needed to hurry and catch a bus that wouldn't be too crowded. They were always crowded around this time because students loved leaving together in groups.

When she reached the lockers, she nearly stumbled forward from loosing her footing just as she turned around the corner. Thankfully, she caught herself before she could. Her hand slammed against the metal, resonating a loud sound everywhere around the floor from the impact. Cringing in embarrassment, she peeked from behind the lockers and checked if anyone was around.

Heterochromia eyes stared back at her.

Onyx eyes blinked.

"Hyoumei?"

"... Todoroki."

He was holding the strap of his side bag, looking surprised from both the noise and her.

"Are you in a hurry?"

"Kinda?"

They both walked out the school together, followed by other students from the school who were also leaving. She was supposed to be running to the bus stop to avoid a crowded bus… yet here she was taking her sweet time while walking with her fellow aloof classmate. The idea of walking with someone else other than Byakuren for a change was kind of interesting, she found herself immediately drawn to it.

"Why are you here? I thought you leave school like… right away?" she asked curiously.

"I was submitting my form to Aizawa-sensei."

"You too?" she tilted her head, "I didn't see you at all, you probably went before me. So, which agency are you going to?"

He didn't answer right away.

"Endeavor's Hero Agency."

The memories of hearing the awful things that the No.2 Hero did during the childhood of the boy standing right next to her made her fall silent.

"... Your dad."

He didn't answer.

She was literally biting her tongue to prevent herself from saying something that might cause any type of hint that she knew of Todoroki's childhood. After all, that sure as hell wasn't public knowledge. She was making a new friend in Todoroki, she didn't want to ruin it by mentioning how she overhead him talking with Midoriya thanks to a certain classmate. It was definitely not something she was supposed to hear! She was a little scared of being tossed aside just as things were staring to get good. Maybe feeling tossed aside like she did during the Sports Festival made her feel scared of experiencing it for real this time.

Yet the guilt of hearing such a thing was kind of clouding her mind... she was scared of accidentally revealing her little secret.

Noticing how she suddenly became quiet, Todoroki glanced at her and shifted the subject onto her, "Where are you going for your internship?"

"Oh uh... somewhere in the Kansai region."

She mentally slapped herself. Why couldn't she just tell him instead of playing games like she did with Byakuren?

Todoroki looked back in front of him, "We might be going the same way then." he revealed to her.

Hearing this, Mizuha ceased any on going thoughts in her head. For some reason, it just somehow came to her. She didn't know why she didn't think of this before. It was probably because she was too busy laughing at him. The Chūbu region and Kansai region we're not in the same direction. Byakuren and Mizuha were not going in the same direction. She wasn't stupid though. She couldn't just ask him to drop her off at her internship and then let him head to his and arrive late. She wasn't about to sabotage the agency's first impression on him... even though she knew that he would refuse her.

And when Todoroki revealed that they were probably heading the same way, she actually liked the idea of having someone keeping her company on the way. But she immediately stomped on that idea, thinking about the possibility of him wanting to be alone. What if she was a bother?

Maybe she could ask him if he didn't mind keeping her company on the way...

Mizuha's eyes slowly fixed Todoroki who was walking next to her. Her hands, that were hidden in her pants' pockets, were flexing as if to shake off her shyness.

"Todoroki?"

He looked at her, "Yes?"

"We might be going the same way, right?" she asked slowly.

"I think so."

"Then maybe we'll see each other on the train, too."

Dear lord, she was beating around the bush.

"Most likely but I'll be disembarking before you. Why?"

...

...

...

"Eh, just curious. Anyway, let's do a good job on our internships."

 _Great. Way to be so freaking humble! WHY CAN'T I JUST SAY IT?! OH RIGHT BECAUSE THESE PAST FIVE YEARS DID NOT ONLY TURN ME INTO A COWARD BUT ALSO A SHY COWARD._

* * *

It was one of those days.

Her body wasn't keeping up with her mind.

She was tired.

Mizuha lazily kept her head propped up on the desk with her non-dominant hand. Her uncle was in front of the class, scratching the chalk against the board as he wrote the equation. They were doing in class work together but Mizuha was barely following. Her attention on the lesson kept wandering away after a few minutes of focus. As advanced as she was in the subject, she would either multi-task in drawing and in paying attention to the lesson while keeping her notes open. When needed, she would make the necessary corrections or notes on the side of the problem. Or she would pull out third year math material that she acquired and study it while completely ignoring the teacher.

But today she wasn't doing any of it. She was prepared though. Her notes were open on her desk and she had a blank sheet of paper in case she wanted to draw.

It was rare, but there were times where she figured her body wasn't okay with being nocturnal the previous night. Her current state was proof of it.

 _Gah... I'll close my eyes for a bit... lunch is next period anyway. I'll be awake by then..._

Mizuha straightened up in her seat, held her pencil in her right hand, tilted her head forward as if she was staring at her notes and then finally used her left hand to shadow her eyes by making it seem she was supporting her head.

This trick always fooled every teacher before high school into thinking she was focusing on her work.

She closed her eyes and blocked out everything. Thankfully, the class was quiet when he wrote on the board.

Eijin finished writing the final piece of the problem. He turned and tapped the board, "Solve this problem."

Some students groaned as they saw the problem.

Immediately, he noticed Midoriya and Yaoyorozu writing furiously against their paper. He glanced around the classroom to check if everyone else was doing the same. He could see Kaminari and Ashido struggling to answer what was practically the easiest problem in the whole exercise.

Out of curiosity, he glanced at his niece to check out what she was doing. He wasn't expecting her to participate and share her answers since she was never one to ever raise her hand in class.

Midoriya shot his hand up, "x equals 35.23!"

Eijin smirked, "OUWANNG! Wrong!"

The green haired student gasped and looked down at his calculations, trying to figure out where he went wrong. However, Yaoyorozu took that chance to share her answer.

"The answer is 34.37."

"Correct! Next problem!"

The next problem was up on the board.

He noticed his niece didn't even move from her previous position. Not one bit.

Odd.

He grew suspicious after two more math problems.

She still didn't move.

Irritated, he purposely wrote a difficult problem that required a rather long calculation. A problem that even Yaoyorozu would struggle with.

"Hyoumei Mizuha!" he bellowed, knowing full well that she had fallen asleep during his lesson. It didn't matter if she was family, she was a student in his class and she was going to go through the same treatment as her peers under his rules. He was so close from throwing a piece of chalk at her head.

Everyone looked at her at the same time, wondering why the teacher called out the silent girl. Hearing her name being called out, her eyes slowly revealed themselves underneath her hand and they slowly narrowed as they were revealed for everyone to see once she lowered her left hand.

"What?" she hissed, annoyed.

Eijin smiled at her and tapped the board behind him, "Is my class making you fall asleep? Maybe doing a problem up here will keep you awake. Come up here."

The girl dropped her left hand against her wooden desk with a rather loud 'thud'. Indicating that she wasn't pleased for being woken up and for being called to the front of the class. Her irritation completely overpowered her shyness at this point. She lazily pushed her chair back, creating an unpleasant screech against the floor. She walked in between her row and the other, walking straight towards the board. Once she got there, she stood in front of her uncle with tired eyes.

Eijin stepped away from the board, "Go on." he gestured.

 _You dare freakin' try me... with math? Man, you must be getting old. Meh, I guess uncle Eijin doesn't know how far I am in math. Poor guy._

Mizuha turned her back to the class and held out her hand to receive the chalk from her uncle.

For a moment, everyone was confused and whispering among themselves because Mizuha was just staring at the bored with a chalk in hand.

Eijin chuckled, "Maybe if you slept like a normal person then you wouldn't be up here right now having trouble." he whispered with a shit eating grin.

"Aw, man... I'd hate to be called out like that." Kaminari whispered to no one in particular.

"Poor Hyoumei..." Jiro said, feeling embarrassed for her.

"Well, she was sleeping in class." Kaminari pointed out.

Kirishima leaned forward, "Nah, I think she knows what she's doing- ah look!"

After a good minute, she moved the end of the chalk near the equals sign and began writing.

Then she stopped and stepped away.

"The answer is five."

She only wrote the number five. Nothing else. No calculation. Just a single digit.

Shocked, Eijin stared at the board with his mouth dropped open. He snapped out of it and turned towards the desk, flipping through his notes to find the page where he had written the steps for the problem along with the final answer.

"Uhhh... c-correct."

Byakuren laughed in the back, causing a few more students to laugh with him.

Eijin gritted his teeth from the feeling of being bested by his own niece at his own game. The girl turned around while covering her mouth with her sleeve in an attempt to poorly cover her yawn.

Mizuha dropped the chalk on the table (breaking it in half upon impact) and gave her uncle a side glance, "Being nocturnal is normal for me, I just happen to be tired today. Also, don't call me to the front again... unless you want your plan to backfire again."

Mizuha smirked at her uncle and walked back to her seat.

Mental calculation wasn't her best skill but when she practiced the same kind of problem over and over again, it just becomes too easy.

It was too bad that her uncle didn't know just how advanced she was in the subject... and was going to continue being advanced with her third year material.

* * *

The day before the internships began, Shiran was released from the hospital. Instead of just looking around his area to see if anything changed and simply hibernating in his room, he decided to help Mizuha pack her things and give her advice on first impressions. Shiran wanted to do something big brother-y. He explained to her that having a good impression on the Hero she was learning from would indefinitely help her create connections with other Heroes would might want her for her next internship.

She did reveal the location of her internship to her family. It was her family. Why would she need to hide it?

... she did mess around with Shiran by refusing to tell him, resulting in him complaining and sulking about how it was unfair, but she did tell him in the end. And... he wasn't exactly thrilled about it at first until Mizuha repeatedly told him to let go of his childish grudge.

When Monday came around, Shiran actually bothered to walk with her to the station where her class was supposed to meet up for their depart.

As usual, Mizuha arrived early.

Shiran, dressed in his black ripped jeans and a blue sweater, looked around curiously.

"Hm? Where are your classmates, Mizuha?"

"They're on their way." she answered while looking around the station for her homeroom teacher among the people walking around the area.

The older Hyoumei looked at his phone, looking slightly concerned, "But... it's past the meeting time?"

Finally spotting the familiar tired looking man, she started in his direction with a shrug, "I gave you the time I wanted to be here. I didn't tell you WHEN I should be here." she said, leaving him alone to register what she just said. He had no way to see the playful smirk on her lips.

With his phone still out, he stared at his little sister for a few seconds before dropping his shoulders.

"Why are we here so early?!" he ran after her with what little stamina he had.

Ignoring her brother's question, she arrived in front Aizawa and greeted him. Aizawa returned her greeting with a tired one. The Hero was no stranger to his student's tendencies on arriving early thanks to his observations for the past few months. However, he was surprised to see the awakened Hyoumei running up behind her. He didn't know if he should be glad or tired to see him.

He decided on the latter.

When Shiran stopped behind his sister, it didn't take him too long to realize who she stopped in front of.

And he immediately reacted.

"Ah! Aizawa-senpai!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

...

...

...

"Aizawa-senpai!" his tone suddenly did a one eighty. He marched over to the older adult and stood in front of him.

Mizuha backed away from both adults while darting her eyes at both of them. Aizawa kept his hands shoved in his pockets and stared tiredly at the younger male in front of him. Shiran crossed his arms and pouted, "No wonder Mizuha got threatened to get expelled! I was wondering who her teacher was when uncle Eijin explained her situation... Of course it was you! I told you about my little sister so many times and you used that knowledge against her! For shame!"

In unison, Aizawa and Mizuha sighed.

"Why did you bring him along?"

"He wanted to drop me off."

"Don't ignore meee!"

The reason why Aizawa knew so much about her Quirk was because of Shiran. Aizawa was five years his senior. He and Present Mic were well acquainted with Shiran Hyoumei due to working together with him several times on heroic duties in the past. No doubt, being the proud big brother he was, he opened his mouth to talk about her more than once whenever he had the chance. While there were times where Aizawa was successful in avoiding to listen to repeated Quirk stories, there were times where he couldn't escape because Present Mic dragged him down with him.

"Sister or not, I'm not going to let a student of mine take the Hero Course like that." he explained stern expression, "Or would you rather the consequences happen in a later future?"

The platinum blonde haired boy dropped his arms and frowned, "No. That would be even worse."

"Then don't complain about me using that knowledge to good use."

Empty on words against his senior, Shiran whipped around and wrapped his sister in a tight hug. She nearly dropped her suitcase from the sudden hug. She gently set it down on the ground next to her and she hugged him back with a small laugh.

"Good luck with Aizawa-senpai as your teacher."

"Ah, Shiran. It's too late to say that. It's already been a few months since he's been my homeroom teacher."

"Aizawa-sensei, good morning!" voices chorused.

Mizuha instantly let go of her brother out of surprise. When did they all gather together so quickly?!

Shiran released his sister and looked at the class behind him. Some of them were actually staring at him curiously. No questions were asked but he knew that they wanted to ask. But, answering their questions was not his problem he was going to leave that task to someone else. The sight of Mizuha's classmates appearance was Shiran's cue to take his leave, which he did but not before patting Mizuha's head and greeting her farewell. He even waved at Todoroki as he left.

Ashido bounced towards Mizuha, "That was your big brother, wasn't it?!" she asked, clearly happy for Mizuha from seeing him independently on his feet compared to when she first saw him.

The taller girl grinned a little and nodded.

...

...

...

"You all have your costumes, right? Remember, you aren't allowed to wear them in public. Don't drop them or anything."

Ashido cheerfully held the suitcase above her head, "Yessir!"

"Don't slur. It's "yes, sir," Ashido."

The pink haired girl toned down her excitement and repeated after him.

"Make sure you mind your manners with the Heroes at your internships! Now, go."

"Yes, sir!"

Mizuha turned to look for Byakuren and noticed that he was already on his way. The absence of any type of exchange made her feel SLIGHTLY irritated, but she didn't hold it against him. Phones existed for a reason. Just as she was about to turn around, Kirishima passed by her and gave her a smile as walked off in his own direction.

"Do your best on your internship, Hyoumei!"

"Yeah, you too!" she waved, sending him a small smile of her own.

The girl watched Kirishima turn around completely, showing his back to her as he walked. Everyone was now scattered across the station, heading to their own platforms. Aizawa was already heading towards the exit. With a deep breath, she picked up her suitcase off the floor and held it firmly in her hand.

She walked fast towards the her designated platform, seeing how it the time for departure was drawing near. She wanted everything to be settled at least five or ten minutes before the time. When she made it in front of the train, she stopped and out of habit she looked around her.

Just as she turned around to check behind her, she came face to face with Todoroki.

No sound left her mouth but her body expressed her sudden fright by jolting.

"So, we are taking the same train." he remarked.

"Haha... I guess we are." she rubbed her finger against her cheek while looking away, feeling somewhat nervous but yet pleased.

They both boarded the train together and Mizuha watched her classmate carefully. She wanted to ask. She really did. But she was just so used to holding back that the habit was too difficult to break out of. It was pathetic, she thought. Not being able to ask what you want without restraint.

After passing by a few seats, he stopped in his tracks causing her to stop. She looked at the seats he had picked, they were the ones with a window view. Those kind of seats were always the best choice.

"Do you want to sit here?"

She blinked, "... me?"

A small smile appeared on his lips, "That is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Mizuha didn't know how to respond. She was confused and at a loss for words. Without bothering to hear her answer, the boy picked one of the seats next to the window and set his suitcase on the same side of the window.

Mizuha frowned, "Was I that obvious?"

He shook his head, "It took me a while after we parted ways to try and understand what you trying to say... or ask. I remembered what you told me in the hospital, being shy that is. Like I said, you didn't seem like the type so I had to read in between the lines." he explained.

Mizuha cautiously stepped closer to the seat she wanted to claim, smiling a little, "And... you don't mind?"

"I wouldn't be asking you if I wasn't."

That was all she needed to hear. It took all her willpower to not show her excitement through a stupid smile. She took the seat in front of Todoroki that was also next to the same window. She set down her suitcase on the empty seat next to her.

"Hyoumei."

"Hm?"

"Next time, just say it."

The girl pouted, "Easier said than done. You haven't been holding back your tongue for... for like forever." she said, "Plus it's even harder if I overthink about if whatever I'm asking will just bother the other person." she rested her head against the wall of the train.

"Then don't overthink?" he suggested.

She didn't reply.

"Is it really that difficult?" he asked.

She nodded, rubbing the side of forehead against the wall.

The train started moving a few seconds later.

"Don't hesitate to ask or say anything. It wouldn't bother me in the slightest."

Slowly, Mizuha looked away from him and moved away from the side. She sat up straight in her sit and contemplated whether or not she should say it. She was still kind of scared. But she didn't want to hide anything from him.

...

...

...

"... Then I want to admit something but I'm scared that you'll get angry." she muttered but Todoroki was able to hear her thanks to the closeness.

He quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head, "Angry?"

Before she could change her mind, she started talking. She confessed about knowing what happened to him during his childhood and that it was never her intention to eavesdrop on his conversation with Midoriya. She also called Bakugo an idiot for dragging her down in the first place, ratting him out at the same time. She was sure she stuttered several times as she explained how she felt about knowing something personal. It wasn't hard to see that she was feeling guilty about it. However, as bad as Mizuha thought it was, Todoroki's thoughts on it weren't as negative as hers. He allowed her to let it out, figuring it was better than letting her keep anything else bottled up and letting her burst again. He already knew about Bakugo knowing about his past so it wasn't a big surprise when she told on him.

There wasn't really anything to forgive.

Mizuha didn't mean to eavesdrop.

She just happen to get caught in the web but she was still had the mindset to respect his privacy unlike the other one who listened in on them.

"It's fine." he reassured, "Don't worry about it."

Mizuha furrowed her eyebrows, "You sure?"

He nodded, "I'm not mad about it so don't beat yourself up over it." he assured.

Then she let out a sigh of relief, slumping in her seat. Todoroki smiled a little, finding at the sight of her looking tired quite comical. She looked more at ease now.

"Feel better?"

"Yes!" Mizuha answered quickly.

With the feeling of starting fresh, she found it easier to talk to Todoroki just like with Kirishima.

* * *

"Yeah, I get it. You want to use your left side as _your_ power, not his."

Todoroki lifted his left hand and stared at it, "I believe it's necessary for me to follow my own path."

"Are you trying to gain some experience by learning from your dad?" she asked while quietly munching on a pocky stick.

"Yeah."

Just then, her phone made a sound that indicated a notification. She quirked up her eyebrow and wondered who was messaging her at this time. It was Byakuren. He sent her a photo. She placed her thumb on the home button and unlocked her phone through her fingerprint to view the photo.

She was surprised. It was a picture of him standing in front of the agency. He was smiling and doing a peace sign.

Mizuha puffed out a laugh and closed her phone, "Byakuren already made it to his agency."

"Kyouran, right?" he inquired, "Your friend." he remarked.

She nodded with a grin, "Yup."

Then, the train announced that they would be reaching Todoroki's stop in two minutes. Mizuha frowned childishly, a little sad that her conversation partner was finally getting off the train soon. Todoroki picked up his suitcase and set on his lap for his last two minutes.

"By the way, which office are you going to?" he asked curiously, "You never really told me the name you only told me the region."

"Oh, I chose Fatgum's Hero Office."

"The BMI Hero?"

"Yep." she said while popping the last letter.

Then, Mizuha thought of something. She pulled out her phone again and held it out between them with a hopeful look, "Hey, can we exchange numbers?" she asked, desperately hoping he would be fine with it.

He smiled at her and pulled out his own phone, "I don't see why not."

She practically jumped out of her seat and went to sit next to Todoroki. She leaned a little closer to him so that they could both exchange their numbers while making sure that the other didn't make any mistakes. He glanced at her from the side as he said his number out loud, watching her type his digits with a silly grin. It was amusing. She was kind of acting like a little kid who was excited to get a toy. Then when he saw what she added next to his name, he looked at her fully, "Really?"

"I like putting kaomojis with my contacts." she justified.

"But that one?"

 _Todoroki ( ・_・)ノ_

Mizuha chuckled.

He shook his head in amusement before registering her number as one of his contacts.

...

...

...

Mizuha waved at Todoroki from her window. He did the same as he watched the train leave the platform. Once he was no longer in sight, she moved away from the window and leaned back in her seat. The train picked up speed and went off towards the next station. Her phone was held firmly in both her hands as she watched the scenery outside her window pass by.

This time, she didn't restrain her lips from stretching into a happy smile. No doubt she was looking forward to her internship, but she also looking forward to the chance of catching the train and maybe sitting with Todoroki again.

 _... Maybe I should ask for Kirishima's number too. I want to be the one to ask and get it. I don't want Byakuren to do things for me now. Todoroki is right, I shouldn't hesitate to ask or say something._

* * *

Mizuha followed her phone that was giving her directions to the office. Her current location was continuously blinking as she kept walking in the direction where the arrow was pointing. She had no idea where it was and she definitely wasn't about to get lost.

When she finally made it, she stared up at the front in awe. Then she giggled. Compared to those big shot agencies, this one didn't really feel intimidating. The front kinda looked like the Hero running that office with their hero name written on top.

She breathed in deeply before slowly releasing her breath. Her hands patted her head and her shoulder, making her headphones weren't on her person. Then she stepped inside, "H-Hello?" she walked to the desk while making sure she sort of dragged her shoes against the floor to indicate that someone was inside.

A woman looked up and greeted her with a smile, "Hello, what can I do for you?" she asked but then she recognized Mizuha's uniform, "Oh, you must be here for an internship."

Mizuha nodded, placing her fingertips on the edge of the desk.

She turned to her computer, "What's your name?"

"Hyoumei. Hyoumei Mizuha."

The girl was completely silent as she waited for the lady to do whatever she need in the system, listening the the keys of the keyboard echo in the room. She turned her head a couple of times to look around the room of the front desk curiously.

"Right, Hyoumei," she pointed to her side, "Just go into that hallway, you should be able to find his office after you turn at the end of it."

"Okay, thanks." she walked off in the appointed direction while unintentionally shuffling her feet.

 _I just hope he doesn't bring that up..._

It didn't take her too long to find herself in front of his doors.

She knocked three times.

They answered almost immediately, "Come in."

Just like when she first arrived, she breathed in and out before slowly opening the door, peeking her head inside. She spotted the Hero in the center of the office after her eyes scanned the room, starting from the left side. There he was. The big round hero was sitting behind his desk, munching on some takoyaki.

He swallowed.

He waved at her and smiled, "Heya wifey!"

She closed the door.

 _He totally did the moment he saw me._

* * *

 **That Hero (Fatgum) is currently a manga-only character in BNHA.**


	3. Chapter 3: Still Not Done Struggling

**HAPPY HAPPY HAPPPYYY NEW YEAR! :D**

 **Thank you to those who favorited, followed and reviewed Book I and Book II during 2018! Your support is very much appreciated fuel for writing Mizuha's story!** **(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑  
**

* * *

 _"Are ya lost, little girl?"_

 _Mizuha didn't move her head but she shifted her eyes upwards to look at the stranger, almost making it seem like she was glaring at them. Shadowed by the buildings of the alley, she was leaning on the side of the wall while carrying a backpack and she was staring at the people passing by._

 _"No." she replied fast._

 _The round stranger tilted their head and looked into the dark alley way she was standing in. It was empty and dark. An odd place for a girl to hide in._

 _"Hmm, then what are ya doin' in a dark place? Don't ya know it's dangerous?"_

 _"O-Of course I know."_

 _But she didn't budge._

 _In an attempt to win her over, he pulled out a lollipop and offered it to her with a big smile, "Want candy?"_

 _Seeing her inch further into the alley made him quickly realize that his plan backfired. Now, she was narrowing her eyes at him, "Mommy said to never accept candy from strangers…"_

 _He let out a nervous laugh, "Your mommy is right…" he put away the lollipop, "But it really isn't safe to stay here alone… why don't ya come outta there?"_

 _She didn't budge._

 _"Are ya scared of me?"_

 _She didn't reply._

 _"Don't worry, I'm a Hero!" he pulled out his license._

 _This caught her attention. Her mouth parted a bit from the revelation and took a step forward to read the license._

 _"F-Fatgum…?" she tested._

 _"Yep, that's me! Ya can trust me." he shot her a friendly smile before putting away his license._

 _Fatgum stepped aside for her to come out of hiding place. When she came out of the shadows, she looked left and right as if she was searching for someone._

 _Curious about her behaviour he asked, "What's wrong?"_

 _Mizuha stared down at the ground and dropped her head, "… I'm lost… I got separated from my brother…"_

 _"Well, we can't have that." he easily picked her off the ground and set her on his shoulders, "I'll help ya find your brother." he announced before marching off in a random direction._

 _"Thank you, Mr. Fatgum!" she smiled._

 _"Just Fatgum is fine~"_

 _"… can I have that lollipop?"_

 _"Sure ya can, kiddo!"_

 _After a couple of minutes of searching, Fatgum decided to ask how she got separated from her brother in the first place. She didn't answer right away because she was embarrassed about the reason. It was her own stupid mistake. She got distracted after seeing an ice cream shop. The moment she turned around to join her brother again, he was gone. No doubt being alone in an unknown place scared her, but she wasn't one to freak out and cry on the spot like any other kid. It was like loosing her mother at the supermarket, she would walk past every aisle to try and find her mom. Except this time, she decided to keep watch for her brother from an alley. She was hoping he would pass by after searching around for her._

 _Fatgum sweat dropped, "… hidin' in a dark alley is different from lookin' in a supermarket…" he pointed out to her._

 _He couldn't help but wonder how long she was hiding in there for._

 _But he was impressed at how she didn't lose her cool when she found out she was lost. Especially when she mentioned she didn't know the area very well._

 _Still, she could have asked for help…_

 _"Say, what does your brother look like?"_

 _"He—"_

 ** _CRASH!_**

 _Fatgum turned to the metallic noise of a trash can crashing down on the pavement._

 _"HOLY SHIT MOM IS GONNA KILL ME! I LOST MIZUHA THE MOMENT WE GOT HERE!" A familiar voice wailed in fear and despair, "MIZUHHHHAAAA!" they let out an unmanly screech that caused a few people to stop and stare at him._

 _Mizuha placed both her hands on top of Fatgum's head and lowered her head, "… That's him." she muttered in embarrassment._

 _Surprised, Fatgum's eyes widened when he recognized the person._

 _A platinum blonde haired male was running around in a panic, and now in their direction. When he got a good look at who he was about to run into, he skidded to a stop stared at the giant Hero. He was panting and looked like he was on the verge of tears._

 _"Taishiroooo!"_

 _"Heya, Shiran." Fatgum waved, "I didn't expect to see ya here till tomorrow."_

 _"TAISHIROOO! I LOST MY SISTER! I BROUGHT HER HERE WITH ME AND NOW—"_

 _Mizuha peeked from behind Fatgum's large head._

 _Shiran cried a fountain._

 _For her summer vacation, Mizuha had nothing to do but to stay home. With her parents working and her brother working official for Endeavor's agency as one of his many sidekicks, she wasn't allowed to stay home and she sure as hell wasn't going to get a babysitter at the age of eight. An agency asked for the help of Sidekicks and Pro Heroes for a case that they were working on. Shiran decided to bring along Mizuha with him after Endeavor enlisted his help in the case, believing he could let her stay in the agency with someone while he did his job._

 _What he didn't expect was losing her the moment they arrived in the area._

* * *

 _"Why are ya lookin' at me like that?"_

 _"... Something's wrong with Mizuha and I think you're the cause... No, I am ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you are the cause..."_

 _"Hm? What are ya talkin' about? I wouldn't do anythin' to sweet little Micchan."_

 _Shiran and Fatgum were both Heroes that were involved in a case that was also being led by the police. Tracking down the enemy proved to be taking a little longer than they expected. They didn't want the Heroes to be too far away when they finally needed their help, so they asked them to stay at the agency that provided them with rooms for the mission._

 _Needless to say that Shiran definitely got yelled at by his superiors for bringing a little girl with him, but with his begging and wailing actually made them allow Mizuha to stay in the same room as Shiran. However, it turns out that she was just fine on her own since she entertained herself by helping the receptionist with her work and staying in her room. Surprisingly, for someone who couldn't stay in one place, she had no problem staying inside like a good girl._

 _And for some reason, Mizuha's behavior was becoming stranger by the day. The older Hyoumei knew how his little sister can get attached to other people once she warmed up to them, but this time was different. It was like... she was a little TOO happy to see Taishiro whenever he was around while Shiran's presence was almost immediately forgotten._

 _She would ask for a ride on his shoulders while hopping up and down and then giggle a lot whenever he let her._

 _She would always hug him._

 _She even fell asleep while leaning against him when they both sat on a bench._

 _Mizuha used to do that with Shiran. Why not now?_

 _What the hell was wrong with his little sister?_

 _"Like I dunno man, she's like WAY too happy and attached to you?" Shiran scowled and crossed his arms._

* * *

 _Shiran let out a cry before punching the round man in the stomach, who did nothing but take one step back after receiving the hit. He barely felt it. Instead he looked down in confusion to see the shorter male lightly punching his stomach repeatedly, his punches getting weaker every time. He was saying something but Fatgum couldn't understand what in the world he was saying since he was speaking way too fast for any other human to understand._

 _"Hey, hey what's the matter with ya?" Fatgum asked before lightly pushing his head away with his large palm, "And could ya talk slower?"_

 _Shiran dropped down on his knees and put his hands on the floor as he fell forward in a devastated position._

 _"I finally figured out what the heck was wrong with Mizuha..." he said slowly._

 _"... and?"_

 _"She has a frickin' kiddy crush on you man!" he yelled, throwing his head up and looking at Taishiro with despair in his eyes._

 _Man, Fatgum could practically see those spotlights you see on TV. The one that drops down on the main character for being so dramatic._

 _Five seconds after the revelation, the older Hero suddenly became a literal ball of laughter._

 _"This is serious!" Shiran nearly screeched._

 _"You're overreactin' Shiran~"_

 _"No, no, no! Normally, little sisters have those childish crushes where they say things like," he immediately stood up, clasped his hands near his face and tilted his head, "When I grow up I wanna marry papa! or-" then he threw his hands up, "Big brother, I'm gonna be your wife when I grow up!" he said in a voice similar to a little girl's._

 _"Wow, those are some nice impressions." complimented Fatgum with a grin._

 _"THE PROBLEM is that she never said any of those! Don't you see?! You're her childhood crush... like what the hell?!"_

 _"Shiran, calm down. It's just a little crush. I don't mind at all." He told the younger man, "If anythin', this is good for teasin' her later on." he finished with a laugh._

 _"I WON'T NOT CALM DOWN! **I** WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MIZUHA'S FIRST LOVE! YOU RUINED IT!"_

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

 _"... that's kinda creepy."_

* * *

 _They finished their mission. It wasn't easy, a lot of people got hurt but no one died. Most of the Heroes helping out in that mission ended up in the hospital for treatment. With the help of a staff member working in the agency, Mizuha was brought to the hospital that Shiran and the other Heroes were resting in the day after they were admitted to the hospital._

 _She was very persistent about finding her brother's room on her own. She made it very clear that she didn't want the staff lady to help her find it, she wanted to prove that she could at least do that on her own. Mizuha definitely proved she could do it because she made it without going back and taking a different path. Her instincts were on point that day._

 _The girl found out her brother was sharing a room with two other Heroes, and when she entered the room she found two beds empty. The door opening caught the attention of the Hero in bed who was previously looking outside his window. Mizuha scanned their face carefully before apologizing and closing the door, thinking she must have taken the wrong path. Oh, how her pride felt destroyed for believing she could actually make it on her own._

 _"Wait! Micchan, why are ya leavin'?" the person asked before she could completely shut the door._

 _She blinked._

 _The door slowly opened again._

 _"It's me!"_

 _She didn't budge._

 _"Taishiro! Y'know? Fatgum."_

 _She didn't reply._

 _Well this was familiar._

 _"Micchan, I don't have my Hero license at the moment."_

 _She opened the door wider, "Fatgum is fat." she stated flatly._

 _And clearly, the person in the room was far from fat._

 _"Yeah, well... I turn into a 'normal' guy sometimes." He joked with a grin._

 _Seeing his grin didn't fully convince Mizuha that he was indeed the same person, even if it looked the same. It was just a smaller version of his wider grin from when he was bigger. While shutting the door behind her, she walked straight towards Taishiro's bed and reached for his face, squishing his cheeks curiously and then peering into his yellow orbs. The hero did nothing but chuckle at her curiosity before ruffling her bangs. As soon as she was done confirming his identity, she pulled away._

 _"... okay it's you."_

 _"Shiran went to walk around, he'll be back soon." he informed her knowing her brother was the one she was really visiting._

 _Mizuha pouted as she took a seat on the chair near Taishiro's bed, then she reached for the side bag she was carrying and pulled out a plastic ziplock bag with a couple of chocolate chip cookies inside, "I wanted to share these with him..."_

 _She actually stopped by a bakery before arriving at the hospital with the lady that was accompanying her. She literally took money from her brother's wallet and used it to pay for the freshly baked cookies. They were warm and she wanted to share them with her brother as soon as possible just in case they got cold. Seeing the cookies in the small bag made the Hero gulp, and then his stomach growled. He was so hungry and hospital wasn't helping his constant hunger, especially now that he was literally empty. He knew Micchan bought them for Shiran... but could he be selfish just this one time? He was so hungry._

 _"Ne... Micchan..."_

 _"Hm~?"_

 _Taishiro ran his fingers in his hair and laughed nervously, "I'm... I'm pretty hungry."_

 _She blinked and tilted her head._

 _Taishiro groaned and dropped his head, **Forget being considerate, sharing is caring.**_

 _"Can I have some cookies?" He asked shamelessly._

 _He looked her dead in the eye when he asked her and watched as her face slowly brightened up and she beamed a smile. It was endearing to see how she went from pouty to smiley._

 _"Sure, if it'll make you feel better!"_

 _Taishiro nearly cried from her generosity._

 _"Ahh~ You're such a sweet girl Mizuha."_

...

...

...

"Mizuha, come back inside." she could hear his muffled voice through the door. She could even hear laughter in his voice.

Mizuha slowly opened the door of his office again, and peeked inside with a pink face.

"I almost didn't recognize ya with that hair color!"

She didn't budge.

"Are ya comin' in?"

She didn't reply.

"Oh? Are ya just too shy to give me another kiss _—_ "

Mizuha busted the door open with a flustered tomato face and ran to his desk, "D-Don't speak of it!" she ordered while shaking nervously but it sounded more like a beg.

"Then quit actin' like you're eight again." He said before munching on another takoyaki.

That was one memory she didn't want to remember at the moment right now. She was already embarrassed enough that he called her 'wifey' the moment he saw her. Now that she thought about it, she's probably going to have to put Shiran back in the hospital for opening his big mouth and telling Taishiro everything she said as a kid. If he didn't like it then he should have just flat out told her and not finally freak out when she planted a peck _—_

 _FUCK I'M REMEMBERING IT! STOOOOP!_

Mizuha practically slammed her forehead against his desk in an attempt to stop remembering her eight year old self's stupid actions. Fatgum winced at the uncomfortable sound she just created from hitting his desk with her head. He quickly pushed her head back up, "Whoa whoa, what are y'doin'?"

"Trying to give myself amnesia!" she wailed.

* * *

Dressed in her Hero costume, she followed her superior like a little duckling following its mother. She preferred to keep a good distance between them just in case she might get in the way of anything. After getting everything sorted out, Fatgum took her out on patrol twenty minutes after she arrived.

"Oh, good day Fat."

She turned her attention on a man who just greeted Fatgum. The Pro Hero greeted him back kindly and then was offered a full box of takoyaki by the civilian. Fatgum was more than happy to accept the box, it was his favorite food after all. When they continued walking, Mizuha could feel the curious stares on her as they noticed her walking behind him.

Fatgum looked at his side, "Oh, that reminds me-" he stopped when he noticed she wasn't anywhere where he could see her. He stopped walking and turned around to see her looking back at him.

"Yeah?"

"Why are ya so far away?"

She was at least twelve feet away.

"Um..." she rubbed her arm, "I-I didn't want to get in your way if anything happened."

The fat hero waved his free hand dismissively and gestured her to come closer, "Nonsense, come'ere."

She did as she was told but still lagged behind just a bit.

"I forgot to ask earlier," he looked at her, "What will I call ya from now on?"

Mizuha stared at him in confusion, one of her eyebrows pressed down while the other tilted up. It wasn't until she heard someone pointed out Fatgum's presence in the streets. She was so close from slapping her own forehead for being slow.

"Celsius."

Fatgum's grin widened, "Fittin' name."

"By the way, is there anything I should know? Like rules or advice?"

"Well, if your intuition if it's tellin' ya to do something that feels right, then do it. But you're still a student without a license so please listen to me when I give ya instructions." he said before opening the box of takoyaki.

Mizuha was familiar with the some of the rules concerning the use of Quirks. She knew that it was against the rules to use Quirks to hurt other people unless they had a license or if their supervisor granted them permission to use their Quirks. If not, then they would be going against the law. It was also probably certain that Fatgum could get in trouble if she went off and acted on her own since she was supposed to be under his watch. Thankfully, she didn't have the guts to act in that way that would result in giving him a hard time. The last thing she wanted was for him to be upset with her.

"Yeah, okay." she nodded.

But, intuition? What if she _did_ act against the law because she followed _—_

"Outta the way!"

They both looked in front of them to see a motorcycle speeding towards them. Fatgum and Celsius were at least a second away from getting hit by the speeding motorcycle. He looked like he was in quite a hurry. His bike dragged out a the normal engine sound as he drove away.

Fatgum narrowed his eyes, "That guy's gotta be careful!"

"Help! He stole my purse!" a woman shouted from afar, laying down on her side.

Mizuha whipped her head towards Fatgum only to realize that he was already dashing off after the motorcycle. The girl stood there for a few seconds before quickly running after the culprit and hoped to catch up with Fatgum. For someone so huge, he ran pretty fast. Obviously, four legs weren't about to catch up with two wheels. Mizuha stretched out her arm and called upon her water to go after the man on the motorcycle. Like a water hose, it raced after the vehicle. The civilians were making sure to stay way from Mizuha's water trail when it saw it moving past them. Once the water enveloped the back wheel, she instantly froze it causing it to stop abruptly. The driver literally flipped over the handles and landed on the concrete on his back. The thundering steps that belonged to Fatgum made him ditch the purse and run away.

But Fatgum and Mizuha were already hot on his heels.

"Not so fast punk! That was assault back there! Once I'm through with these takoyaki, you're as good as caught."

Mizuha gaped, "Are you serious right now?!" she almost shouted, while holding the purse she swiped off of the ground.

The helmeted driver whipped around, and swiftly pulled out a gun from his jacket, "You won't take me alive!"

Seeing a real gun in person actually scared Mizuha, especially since she was on the side that it was pointing at. The man pointed his gun at Fatgum and immediately pulled the trigger, creating a loud sound. The big hero dropped his takoyaki and blocked the bullet with the hand that was carrying the box. The bullet; however, did nothing but sink into the back of his glove before slowly dropping down on the floor harmlessly.

"Damn fool. Y'think a little toy like that... could hurt Fatgum the tender tank of Naniwa?" The Pro Hero's grin widened.

The biker panicked and tried to turn tail and run once more.

Fatgum instantly grabbed the man's jacket and pulled him towards him, and then grabbed his gun and tossed it aside, "Get ready, 'cause I'm hittin' you back for each wrong you did me." he smacked off the guy's helment, revealing a petrified expression.

Mizuha peeked form behind Fatgum.

"One, two, three, four, five, six!"

Fatgum was slapping the life out of that thief.

With a swollen face, the guy whimpered out, "Buh I onwy shot wunce..."

Fatgum leaned closer, "What's that? I ain't takin' 'bout bullets." he turned around and pointed at all the takoyaki scattered across the pavement, "I'm talkin' 'bout the takoyaki I was totin'! I was carryin' thirty-six of 'em!"

Mizuha sighed heavily before giving the man a sympathetic look, "Yeah... imma just go give this back." and then she went back the way she came from in search of the owner of the purse. Fortunately, the woman appeared when she reached halfway. Mizuha held up her purse and shook it a little to show it to her. The woman looked relief and quickly ran up to her.

"Thank you so much!" she smiled as Mizuha handed her back her purse.

Mizuha nodded and then turned around, walking back to where Fatgum was. When she returned, she found the man unconscious and slung over her superior's shoulder. Honestly, she was pitying the man. He just got slapped thirty-six times by a big hand and each one held the frustration of dropping the takoyaki that was given by that nice civilian.

...

...

...

After dropping the thief at the police station, Fatgum patted (more like slapped) her back and grinned at her. She gasped and stumbled a few steps ahead.

"For your first time, ya handled that pretty well."

Mizuha looked up at him, unsure, "Really?"

"Yep, some newbies tend to go overboard."

Mizuha frowned, she looked back in front of her and thought back at the moment just before she gave chase. She remembered looking at Fatgum to get some type of instruction from him even though the obvious thing to do was chase after the thief.

What the heck was up with that?

Why did she wait?

Why did she hesitate for something so simple?

* * *

After patrolling for a good two hours, the Pro Hero decided they should return to the agency for give their report.

Mizuha was doing her best to make up for her little display during the Sports Festival. When they were patrolling in the areas where villain incidents rarely occurred (except for that one biker thief), she did hear some people talk about her rudeness when they whispered around after noticing her. Fatgum was well aware of what she did and he praised her for keeping her head up despite hearing the whispers. She wasn't going to let their words bring her down. All she needed was the show that wasn't really like that. If she could change a few people's minds then that should eventually spread and change the rest, right?

Mizuha sighed rather loudly.

Hearing this, Fatgum looked at his protégé and was taken back at the sight of her arms, "Micchan, what's wrong with you?"

The girl snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. Her eyes followed his finger and noticed that both her forearms were red which made her stare at them blankly, not knowing what to think of it. It was hot. Then, she realized that her knees were also supporting the same kind of burning and itchy sensation.

She had no idea what this was.

"I-I don't know!" She frowned, scratching her arms, "But it feels hot."

"Err... don't do that. Maybe you should put cold water or somethin'."

Immediately, she emitted very thin layers of ice where the redness was occurring.

Irritated, she pulled out her phone, "Gimme a sec." she started typing a few keywords in the search bar that might help find whatever was wrong with her.

 _Stress and anxiety can affect the human body. They can cause burning and itchy sensation on the skin, reducing your body's stress can definitely help with diminishing these symptoms._

Mizuha stared at her screen. Re-reading times several times just to make sure she didn't read it wrong but it was all the same.

Now that she thought about, she has been feeling nervous all the time... and her mother has pointed out several times that she had anxiety and that she should stop having it. She was always feeling nervous but this was the first time she was having these symptoms.

No... That day when she went to give Aizawa her choice for her internship, she remembered overthinking and feeling stressed that her skin was starting to feel a little hot.

And add all that with her shyness-

She whipped her head at Fatgum, "I'm a ball with anxieties. What the hell?!" she nearly dropped her phone from the shock.

"You're a what?" he stared at her, eye wide from the confusion of her odd declaration.

"I have freakin' anxiety!" she wailed before rubbing her arms and reaching down to pat her knees, "My skin is getting red here because of it! Oh my god! WHYY?!"

She completely disregarded the fact that she was in public and that she was looking ridiculous patting her arms and knees repeatedly. Fatgum glanced around him and merely waved at the civilians passing to tell them that everything was fine. When he looked back at her, he was immediately reminded of another student from U.A. Compared that student he knew, she clearly had a different way of showing her anxiety. The other one he knew would usually hide his face by going off to face a wall.

This one was having red skin was now cursing at her own anxiety.

"What're ya so nervous about?"

"I-I was just thinking about how I needed to show a good public image and I guess I just started overthinking and getting nervous about what I should do and-"

"Why dontcha just smile?" he suggested.

Mizuha stopped all her movements, straightened up and looked at Taishiro dead in the eyes.

"No." she said with a tired look.

"Why not?"

"I can't smile! Not when there's nothing to be happy about!"

"Smiles usually help a Hero's image! Think 'bout All Might, that guy's always smiling and that's one of the reasons people love 'im!"

As a demonstration, Fatgum used his index fingers to push the corner of his mouth upwards, "Smile!" he encouraged with his own.

...

...

...

She tried.

Her face felt twitchy.

Her smile barely reached her eyes. It just looked like someone curved her mouth and left it as it is.

There was a moment of silence between them. Mizuha waited for his opinion while enduring the twitches of her 'smile'.

Fatgum's yellow eyes stared at it. The twitching was so obvious.

She was forcing herself too much.

His eyes moved back to hers.

"A dead smile!" he remarked, laughing.

Her smile instantly dropped.

"Hey!" she frowned.

* * *

Fatgum easily pinned her down and restrained her arm behind her back, all while being careful not to suffocate her under his weight. This was the fifth time he pinned her down.

She groaned a little when he let her go.

"You rely too much on your Quirk, don't you?" He remarked.

Mizuha stood up, "Huh?"

"I noticed that your blows are less powerful compared to the Sports Festival. Why's that?"

The girl sighed and rubbed her arm, "I'm not actually good at hand-to-hand combat." She admitted, "The only reason why it seemed like I was good at it was because I was fighting against the guy I usually did my sparring with. I already knew where to strike but I had to be very careful at the same time."

She clenched her fist, "I don't really rely on my fists 'cause I never had to use it as a last resort, and that option doesn't really come up in a fight unless the situation was like the one in the Sports Festival. So, yeah, I guess I do rely too much on my Quirk." Mizuha looked up at the taller man, "But that's why I came here! I wanted to be more versatile and improve!"

She needed to work harder especially since her Quirk was still in need of improvement. Her solid form was well trained but her liquid and gas form were five years behind. But for now, she wanted to work on something else before she went straight back to training her Quirk again.

She had potential. Her quirk was a good one. Fatgum had always been good at seeing potential in his interns and he was seeing a lot in Mizuha. Seeing the determination in her eyes was such a huge contrast to her current calm exterior. Not only did she acknowledge her faults but she was also striving to improve them. She had the potential to reach higher and she knew that.

With a large smile, he nodded, "You made the right choice Micchan, my agency doesn't really take up arms here." he gestured her to get back in her fighting stance just as he did, "Let's continue, yeah? Don't worry, by the end of this week, I'll be sure ya end up with a better grasp on hand-to-hand combat." He promised.

Mizuha leaned her head back, "In a week? Is that possible?"

He grinned, " _I'll_ make it possible." he swore.

Mizuha didn't say anything but a quick shiver gave away her worry for her future in the next few days.

* * *

 _Mizuha: You've been in Hosu?_

 _Todoroki: Yeah_

 _Todoroki: He wants to track down the Hero Killer who appeared in Hosu._

 _Mizuha: He took you out in the field already? And in a place where the_ ** _HERO KILLER_** _is?_

 _Todoroki: If it'll help me see what makes him number two then I have no problem with it._

 _Mizuha: ... and he is the one supervising your internship_

 _Mizuha:_ _and I know the whole point of this is to gain experience_

 _Mizuha: just a little worried y'know?_

 _Todoroki: I'll be careful._

 _Mizuha: yeah please do_

 _Todoroki: What about you? How is your internship going?_

Mizuha frowned.

Three days had already passed and she was definitely learning a lot from Fatgum, but she wasn't impressed with herself so far.

They just came back from another one of their patrols and they were done for the day. Instead of changing out of her hero costume and into more comfortable clothes, she just planted herself on the couch in the reception room. No one but her was at the front because the lady behind the desk was gone for the day. That just gave Mizuha the free will to do whatever she wanted with no one watching her. Mizuha had kicked her legs up on the table and dropped her head back against the couch to face the ceiling with a blank look.

Why couldn't she follow Taishiro's advice? Was it really so hard to trust her gut and just do it?

She couldn't recall the number of times she turned to him whenever there was something going on. She was always waiting for his instructions. There were times where he did but that was only when she asked him. Otherwise, she would just follow him when he went on ahead. It was so frustrating. She couldn't even think, she couldn't even decide.

Why was she always hesitating? It was so strange and frustrating.

He even confronted her about it and told her once again to trust herself.

But she could only answer with, "I'm sorry, I'll try to do better next time."

However, those next times were no different.

 _Mizuha: It's going well._

 ** _(Todoroki is typing...)_**

 _Todoroki: You took too long to reply._

"This guy... so attentive." Mizuha scowled.

 _Mizuha: Nah, nah don't worry about it!_

 _Mizuha: Everything is all good I'm just struggling to keep up that's all._

"Is that the best I could come up with? Geez."

 _Todoroki: If you say so._

 _Todoroki: Hang in there._

 _Mizuha: Thanks._

With a few more texts, they both ended their conversation. She released a heavy sigh and then she dropped her phone on her side, causing it bounce once the couch.

She was getting tired of herself. Her hand rose up and covered her eyes, setting the cool metal surface on her forehead.

 _Why is this so hard?_

The clock somewhere hung up on a wall was ticking, echoing in the room every second. It was so quiet and calm.

Then, she felt something rest on her palm.

She quirked up an eyebrow.

Curiously, she peeked through them. To her surprise, she found Fatgum staring down at her with one of his usual large grins. Her eyes widened and she instantly panicked. Mizuha abruptly sat upright and took her feet off the table while quickly dusting off anything that her boots might have left on it.

"S-Sorry!" she stuttered, embarrassed.

Then she felt him push something against her cheek. She reached up and heard plastic rustling when her finger brushed against a wrapper. She took it and looked at what he handed her. It was an apple flavored juice box.

She let out a small laugh, _what a childish flavor. Still one of my favorites though._

"You still remember, huh?"

"I remember you spittin' out that soda after one sip." he said flatly.

Mizuha shrugged, "Till this day, I still don't like sodas. I only drink juice, milk, water and uhh... oh yeah, chocolate milk." then she looked at him, "But what's up? Why the juice?"

Fatgum placed a hand on her head, "Well, you've been lookin' kinda down these past two days so I figured maybe ya'd wanna talk about it." he remarked, "What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

The girl frowned. Was she that obvious? What happened to being skilled at hiding what was on her mind and what was she feeling with a mask?

She cast her head down, fiddling with the plastic wrapper around her straw and then shrugged, "I don't know honestly..." she mumbled before looking up at him silently.

 _I don't know what's wrong with me._

 _Maybe from a Pro Heroe's point of view, I can at least find some sort of answer?_

"Maybe you can help me?"

...

...

...

Taishiro took a seat next to her on the couch and listened.

Mizuha told him her current issue while also dropping in a few necessary details about her incident in order to make her situation a little more clearer to him. Mizuha also made sure to mention that she already broke down the wall she created after the Sports Festival. That fact alone was important and it's what made her even more confused. She got over it, didn't she? So what on earth was the problem?

She needed help and she was getting desperate to get it because she had no idea what was up with her.

As for Taishiro, it was already clear to him why she couldn't act by following her instincts. It was only natural she couldn't see it. It was unfortunately part of who she was. She was still in that state where she was still questioning her decisions and she still had trouble deciding whether or not they are correct. Hesitation, fear and the absence of the desire to follow her instincts. It was all engraved in her being, all too well.

Her will to follow her quick decisions has been restrained and lain dormant for far too long.

He could clearly see the disappointment in her eyes when he explained it to her yet she remained silent and listened to him. The frustration of not being able to fully go through what she wanted to because of past scars and the cowardice that came along with it made her want to scream. She wanted it so badly but she still couldn't. There were still some chains around her that she still didn't completely break free from.

Her fists balled on her lap as she gritted her teeth, disappointed in herself. She never realized just how far her hesitation to do things had stretched to.

"So," she finally spoke after listening to him carefully, "I'm still a damn coward who can't do want she wants because of fear that I've already accepted and moved on from?!" she spoke in a low voice, "What kind of bullshit is that?!" she snapped at herself before lowering her head, shadowing her eyes with her bangs.

Taishiro's eyebrows furrowed in worry, "C'mon, don't say that. It's not that you're a coward; y'know what ya want it's just that this is the first time you're trying to do what's right again." his hands hovered above her as if to try and calm her down.

She didn't want to have another outburst like she did with Kirishima during their school event, so she focused on calming down. She shut her eyes for a while, clearing her mind a little, before slowly opening them again. Her fisted hands slowly relaxed too. Mizuha sighed heavily in frustration and threw her hands up and quickly dropping them down at her sides, "Well, I don't know how I'm supposed to do this." she said, sounding defeated.

Taishiro gently brushed away the hair covering her left eye, "This is the whole point of internships, ya gain experience and grow from it. Starting tomorrow, patrols are gonna be different so that it can help you follow your guts. So, don't let it get ya down, okay?" he ruffled her bangs, messing it up.

"... Yeah... okay."

"Now, drink up your juice, ya haven't even opened it."

Without a word, she picked up her juice box and ripped off the straw. Her fingers easily guided her straw to the closed hole before puncturing it with enough strength.

Then she quietly drank her juice, occasionally gulping a little too loudly.

"Micchan, stop sulking and smile instead." he said, trying to brighten up her mood a little.

Her eyes shifted towards Taishiro and then her lips moved away from her straw, "There's nothing to be happy about." she stated, frowning.

"Just a small smile?"

"No."

* * *

 **That scene with the takoyaki was from the spin-off manga called _My Hero Academia: Vigilantes._ I know it takes place before Aizawa was a teacher but that scene was gold and I had to write it :D**

 **Yes, Mizuha is not really done dealing with her problems just yet.**

 **CandianBlitz: Love triangle? I never considered it to be honest because I'm still not sure who to pair her up with (I am planning to pair her up with someone though!) I was so focused with developing her character in the first book that I completely forgot about the pairing. Oops.**

 **Arrow-chan3: Yeah, I needed a character that had some sort of connection with Mizuha for her internship. If she were to take an internship somewhere else, she wouldn't be so open about her issues since she's shy around others (take her awkward encounters with Todoroki prior to their friendship for example) and that would prevent her from fully giving it her all in her internship. I also wanted her to act a little more like herself for once.** **Besides, the idea of having someone teasing her because of something embarrassing seemed interesting! And** **Fatgum was the first character I thought of.**

 **Anyway, expect the next chapter soon! It'll wrap up Mizuha's internship!**


	4. Chapter 4: Trust Yourself

It was morning, meaning it was time for her to get ready and head out, but yet here she was texting Byakuren in bed, talking about how both of their internships were going. Just like her, it seemed like he was going on a lot of patrols. He also did a few rescuing during his internship, allowing his to have better control over his tornadoes and not just wreck something. That was good, considering those were one of his flaws. Like a tornado, his Quirk is most suited for causing damage. It must have been a little nerve wrecking to try and transport people with his Quirk since there was still the risk of dropping them.

It wasn't long before the subject changed to the incident that happened last night in Hosu city. It was Byakuren who brought up the reappearance of the Hero Killer while also mentioning the involvement of three of their classmates. She knew about it when she heard the news on TV, there were reports of fire along with the appearance of those Nomus attacking the city. Knowing that Endeavor was there made her believe that somehow Hosu would be alright. As much as Endeavor was a terrible father, there was no denying that he was a good Hero. If not, then what reason what would he be dubbed the Number Two? Still, she couldn't help but feel worried about Todoroki. So, she sent him a quick text, asking if he was alright. But he never answered back, she figured he was probably busy dealing with the threats with his dad.

Byakuren informed her that he received a message from Midoriya that only revealed his location. He was super confused but didn't think much of it since he had to leave his phone behind before he could make sense of what it was. Mizuha received no such message since the only contacts she had on her phone that were from her class were Byakuren and Todoroki. Curious, she decided to search up for any news articles about the Hosu incident. It didn't take her long to find out that Midoriya, Todoroki and Iida were saved from the Hero Killer thanks to Endeavor.

Mizuha stared at her screen, eyes enlarged.

She was worried. For all three of them.

 _Byakuren: I have a hunch that Midoriya sent that because he was in trouble or something_

 _Mizuha: His location right?_

 _Byakuren: Yeah_

 _Mizuha: hm_

 _Mizuha: I guess that makes sense. Why would you just send your location without a message attached to it? Seems odd._

 _Mizuha: or maybe not cuz you can be pretty dumb sometimes :P_

 _Byakuren: rude_

Then, a notification dropped down on her screen.

She received a new text from Todoroki. He finally replied to the text she sent hours ago.

 _Todoroki: Everything turned out okay._

Mizuha rolled onto her stomach and rested her elbows on her pillow while tapping furiously on the notification to bring her to their conversation.

 _Mizuha: I heard you guys were admitted to the hospital._

 _Mizuha: Are you guys okay?_

 _Todoroki: Yeah, we just need to heal from our wounds._

Mizuha let out a relieved sigh.

 _Mizuha: Phew, that's good to hear. Are you going to stay there long?_

 _Todoroki: No_

 _Todoroki: As soon as I feel good enough to continue my internship, I'll leave and go back to continue._

 _Mizuha: Hm, okay. Don't push yourself._

 _Mizuha: Hey, I gotta get ready to head to the office. See ya._

He didn't answer her back but he made it clear that he saw her message. She turned off her phone, reached for her charger and left it to charge next to the bed. Mizuha let out a long breathe before pushing herself up with her elbows and then rolled over before literally bouncing out of bed. She staggered with her first few steps.

Mizuha was really looking forward to her next patrol with Fatgum. She really was now that she calmed down and thought about everything.

He was right. Her hesitation was and lack of want was all part of her, but that only because she made it part of her. It was her own decision to turn out the way she did. In other words, this was her doing, her own fault.

Mizuha stepped into the bathroom and faced the mirror, staring at her reflection blankly.

She lightly slapped her palms onto her cheeks.

But if she did this to herself, then it's up to her to change again.

She needs to believe in herself again.

* * *

Her hands carefully guided the stack of paper towards the edge of the table. Her left hand pushed them off and she easily set them down on her open right palm. Once she made sure everything was all good to be moved, she robotically rotated on her spot and slowly walked over to Fatgum's desk. She really didn't want to cause the papers to fly everywhere if she dropped them.

Mizuha carefully set the stack of papers on top of her Fatgum's desk, making sure that the bottom paper was not creased or folded when she did, "Should I get the other stack over there?" she said while pointing at the smaller stack on the table she just came from.

Taishiro shook his head, "Nah, I'll get to 'em later."

Mizuha backed away from his desk and scanned the stack she just delivered, and then looked at the pace that Fatgum was going over them. There wasn't much left for him and he was actually going at a reasonable pace. She rolled her lips inside her mouth and hid her twisting hands behind her back.

Feeling the eagerness from his desk, Taishiro laughed, "Micchan, I'll be done with these in at least thirty minutes. I'm pretty quick in doin' this kind of paperwork." he said without looking up from his current task.

Mizuha pouted and slumped her shoulders, "Okaaay." she drawled before turning around and walking over to his door. Instead of doing nothing and just browsing the internet, she decided to go train and work on her hand-to-hand combat against the training dummies.

 _TAP! TAP! TAP!_

Mizuha frowned and tilted her head, _footsteps? I wonder who it is?_

She quickly backed away from the door and waited for the person to open it and reveal themselves. It was the lady who was usually behind the desk, she was panting.

"I'm sorry for barging in Fat but the police are here to see you. They said it's urgent!"

Fatgum dropped his pen, pushed the chair back and quickly followed after the woman. Still rooted in her spot, Mizuha looked unsure of what to do now. But her curiosity as to why the police showed up at his office was getting the best of her. Her feet were slowly shuffling against the floor before she found herself walking after the two adults. The girl's footsteps were loud enough for anyone to hear since she was wearing boots. As she saw Fatgum and the woman turn around the corner, she stopped and just peeked behind the wall.

"What's goin' on?"

There were two policemen standing in front of the doors, both looking serious.

"There's currently a man running loose and he has taken a child hostage." one of them said.

Mizuha's eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly open. That wasn't the kind of thing she wanted to hear early in the morning. It was too early for something like this too happen.

Then again, trouble does really have a time it just happens.

"He has a flying Quirk… he's been flying around and we can't risk shooting him with the child in the way."

Mizuha pulled away her attention from the conversation and gulped. That kind of thing was way too heavy for her internship. She didn't know what to think of the situation except that she knew she probably didn't want to get involve when something very precious was at stake.

Life.

She shouldn't get involved. Even if Fatgum asked her too assist, she'd probably want to back out.

"Is there any word about this guy's whereabouts?"

"No, we lost track of the guy a few minutes ago."

Mizuha slowly tiptoed away and backed into the corridor that led to Fatgum's office.

She should probably just wait there…

When she was about to pass by a window, she mindlessly turned her head towards the glass and stared outside it, admiring the buildings in front of the office.

Then she froze in horror.

 _"Please! That's my husband!"_

 _"Ma'am! We have to bring him to the hospital!"_

 _"Take me with you!" She pleaded as tears fell freely from her eyes._

 _Mizuha felt saddened at seeing how the lady refused to leave her husband's side. Her own tears started to fall and she sniffled. Eijin immediately scooped her up from the ground and carried in his arms and away from the scene._

 _"Uncle Eijin... is that guy going to be okay?"_

 _"... I'm sure he will."_

 _"... That lady looked really sad."_

 _"Yes, I know."_

 _She sniffled again and cried a little. Her uncle made the effort to wipe away her tears with the pads of his thumbs._

 _"It's sad."_

 _"And that's why we're here. We protect people because we don't want people to cry."_

It was brief, but Mizuha saw a child crying as they were being violently pulled away from the public eye. The child was on top of the building just across from Fatgum's office.

Why would a child be on top of a building?

There must be a rational explanation…

Right?

There's no way…

Even if it was… surely someone else saw…

Right?

 _Right?_

… Wait.

 ** _What the hell are you waiting for?!_**

Suddenly, the soles that always felt glued to the floor finally felt free to move. Her legs, her mind, her entire being was literally screaming at her to stop hesitating and to finally move. She breathed in a sharp breath and clenched her fists tightly. Her head whipped towards the direction of the office's doors. Mizuha turned around the corner and dashed towards the doors of the office building, running past the serious cops and her startled supervisor.

"Mizuha?! Where are ya goin'?!" Fatgum asked loudly while stretching out a hand, shocked.

Both of her hands pushed the doors, slamming them open. As soon as she took a couple of steps outside and had both boots on the pavement, a wave of water appeared behind her and quickly leveled her up to the opposite building. When her water brought her above roof, she allowed herself to pass through the water, landing safely. Her eyes were quick to locate the culprit. The man wanted by the police was literally dragging the kid by his arm and then pulled him harshly towards him, locking him under his arm.

The kid was crying.

There was a sudden adrenaline rush.

"Let him go!" Mizuha screamed before running at full speed.

The villain clicked his tongue in annoyance before jumping up just before Mizuha could reach them, revealing dark wings that emerged from his back.

"Beat it kid!" he growled before flying upwards.

The child's hand was stretched out towards Mizuha, who jumped up and tried to grab it. She was barely even able to reach the kid and she soon found herself staring at his terrified expression as he began to move further away from the ground, and soon started flying off towards a unknown destination.

Mizuha stood there, shocked and frustrated at how slow she was with her arm still outstretched.

…

…

…

 _"Yeah, I want to be a hero that protects people so that others don't have to feel sad. If possible, I want to be a small glimmer of hope for people. I want to protect the happiness that people bring to one another."_

 ** _NO! KEEP MOVING! YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN THE FIRST STEP SO YOU CAN'T STOP NOW!_**

He was getting farther away with every second she wasted. The girl wasted no more time in standing still. Before she knew it, she was running on buildings' roofs and jumping over the gaps between them. It didn't matter if she the gap was bigger than the previous one, she would create a sturdy ice platform that would help shorten the distance.

The civilians who saw her running after the villain were quick to point at her to help to police keep track of the villain's location.

Seeing this, the villain growled in annoyance and flew up higher before turning around and swooping down towards her.

"I'm already a guaranteed prisoner at this point; I might as well do whatever the hell I want!" he shouted before aiming a kick at her side.

Unfortunately, Mizuha was in midair when it happened and she couldn't get into any position to block or retaliate. The impact of his kick sent her flying down to the ground.

Mizuha quickly extended her left arm towards the ground and created an ice ramp that eased her fall but still caused her to crash into a couple of cargo boxes in front of a store. The young woman, presumably the owner of the store, shrieked in surprise and backed away from the boxes that got knocked over like bowling pins.

The woman gasped in surprise when Mizuha struggled to push the box off of her body, "Oh my gosh are you okay?!"

The student didn't bother replying. Instead, she was hurrying to get out of the pile of boxes to continue chasing after the flying culprit.

She could still hear him crying.

Mizuha picked up her speed.

People around the area kept pointing at the man while making sure of steering clear of Mizuha's way, getting the message that she was after him.

"Damn it, he's getting further away!"

 _What can I do?!_

 _How can I catch up without creating damage to the buildings?_

One of her classes with All Might taught her that it was very important to keep the damage to a minimum when faced with villain or else their Quirks would create problems where civilians might get caught in the crossfire.

 _Minimum damage… Water should be the best solution but I need a boost first…_

Mizuha skidded to a stop and crouched down on the floor. The presence of her ice began to emit once it started to visibly swirl around a certain radius. A giant tilted pillar shot her into the air once her hands slammed onto the pavement. Then, she tried moving upright in the air to the point where she looked straight. She swiftly brushed her hands against her boots and created an ice platform similar to the one she made during her fight with Byakuren.

"Now!"

She swung her arm upwards and a wave of water rushed beneath the ice platform. Not used by the rough waves of the water, her balance was unsteady but not lost. The water did not drip or touch anything below it, it was focusing on driving Mizuha closer to the man carrying the child underneath his arm.

The sound of rushing waves of water caught the villain's attention who started to turn around to check what was going on behind him. To his surprise, he found Mizuha; glaring at him and riding a floating wave of water that was rushing towards him like a horizontal waterfall.

"What the hell?!"

Mizuha quickly slammed the metal plates behind her gloves together. When she got close enough, she jumped off the ice and evaporated all her creations behind her.

She clung onto the villain's leg and hanged meters above the ground.

"Help me!" the little boy cried, extending his small arms to her.

Mizuha grimaced, "Just wait a sec!"

"UGH! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!" He yelled, shaking his leg violent in hopes she would lose her grip. At this point, she looked like some rag doll and she nearly lost her grip.

The girl's nails started digging into his skin, making him cry out in pain.

"Let him go!" She demanded, furious.

"And lose the upper hand?!" he shoved his hand inside his pocket, "I don't think so!" and then pulled out a dagger.

Sunlight glinted off the steel and into Mizuha's eyes, causing her to squint her eyes and look away.

"GET OFF!"

Her quick reflexes helped her move her head away from the blade, but not fast enough for it to not cut her right cheek. She hissed in pain from the burning sensation of her fresh wound. It didn't help that she was starting to receiving numerous kicks to the face and head from his other foot. She was starting to get dizzy.

"LET GO!" he aimed his dagger at her again.

This time he got her neck.

 _Okay, that one really hurts!_

Aggressively, she opened her mouth and sunk her teeth into the skin of his wrist that belonged to the hand holding the dagger. As expected, the dagger fell out of his hand from the intense pain making it free and wide open to attack.

Mizuha's used her non-dominant hand; her left hand, and slammed the back of it onto his open palm. Then when she pulled her hand towards her his hand was stuck to it.

 _Gotcha!_

Both of her metal plates were below zero degrees. They were frozen. And now, they were creating the same effect as keeping someone's tongue stuck to a pole after foolishly licking it. The tongue is robbed from all heat once it makes contact with a frozen pole, making it stick to it. She was doing the same thing with the heat from his palm and her frozen metal plates.

Now, there was only one thing to do.

She violently ripped away her hand from his palm, taking away pieces of his flesh with her.

He let out a piercing scream and loosened his hold on the child, dropping him meters above the ground.

The boy's hands outstretched towards Mizuha as he dreaded the fall. Mizuha's eyes widened in horror. Her hands released the man's leg and she dropped down after him. She needed to reach the boy before he got too far and then she should try to find away to get them safely on the ground. She had to reach him—

"YOU BITCH!"

Wings flapped.

Mizuha gasped and turned around—

"Fire!"

Gunshots were fired. She saw the bullets race past her and connect with his wings just before he could reach her. With his wings damaged, the villain also dropped down to the ground. It didn't take too long for her to realize that it was the police.

 _The kid!_

Mizuha twisted her body just enough for her to see the child. He looked so terrified from the experience and he was screaming out in fear. She narrowed her eyes and moved her hands towards him. As if he was in a pool, he dropped down inside a cube of water that gathered below him, successfully slowing him down and then she evaporated the water.

He was on the ground and he was safe.

 _… Now, I need to get down safely too—_

She paled when she realized she didn't have enough of a time interval to use her Quirk to save her.

 _Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!_

Frightened, she closed her eyes and awaited the impact... or death.

Loud stomping echoed.

"I gotcha!"

A pair of large hands caught her and broke her fall. Confused, she stared up at her saviour. She found Taishiro peering down at her with relief in his eyes. How did he know where she was? She was sure she was far away from the office… In fact, how did the police get there too? Was it the people?

"That was quite a scare." he remarked as he shifted her in his arms and gently lowered her down to the ground. Mizuha gave him a quick thanks but her attention was already elsewhere.

She turned her head and looked over at the fallen villain. He was struggling against the cops with his wings bleeding out, clearly indicating that they were currently out of commission.

"… The kid?" she mumbled, turning her head around to try and look for him.

"Yuusuke!"

"MAMA!"

A dark skinned woman appeared and was running to her son… who was drenched. They both embraced each other, glad and relieved to be with each other.

"I-I'm sorry he got soaked… I couldn't catch him in time." Mizuha apologized with an explanation that she thought was just an excuse for not being able to do better.

The woman went over to hear, bearing a grateful smile and held her hands, "No, no, this is nothing as long as I have my baby back! Thank you so much!" she thanked with tears in the corner of her eyes.

Mizuha smiled a little at that, "As long as you're happy… then that's enough for me."

Fatgum stared at the scene before him.

It was strange.

Just yesterday, she was so angry with herself for being incapable of doing the right thing yet today's events said the opposite.

She was capable of doing it.

* * *

Taishiro smacked her right cheek.

Mizuha hissed in pain, "Ow! Did you have to put on the patch like that?!" she exclaimed cradling her cheek, pouting.

The older man shot her a look, "Ya may be commended for your actions but ya still ran off on your own." he reminded.

He was really worried, especially when he saw that struggle in the air. That fall could have definitely killed her if the civilians didn't direct him and the police to her location.

They were back at the inside his office. He was treating the little wounds she got during her struggle in the air with the flying villain. No one said a word about the incident. The only words spoken were Taishiro's whenever he asked her to do something so that he have a better angle to treat her wounds. There was already a bandage roll around her neck for the cut she got. He saved the best for last though: the smack.

"What was I supposed to do? Notify the police? He was already out of sight when I saw him!" she argued, "Besides, I obeyed the law didn't I? I didn't hurt him with my Quirk!" she justified but she knew that was sort of a lie.

Taishiro sighed, "Ya could have at least said _something._ " he shut the first aid kit, "Honestly, what made ya suddenly act the way ya did?" he asked, curious since she was contradicting what she said the previous day.

Mizuha shrugged, "I don't know... I just- I saw that kid look so scared and... it made me remember how I witnessed an incident where I saw a bunch of people crying because people they cared about got hurt." she lowered her hand and stared at her palm, "I wanted to become a hero because I want to protect the happiness with bring to one another. I guess that's why I desperately wanted to save that child... I wanted him to go back to his mom so that they can both be happy."

The blond hero thought about this deeply.

Meanwhile, Mizuha helped herself to some takoyaki on the tray that was on the table.

Her reason to become a hero didn't interfere with her instinct to act. Now that he thought about it, the incidents that occurred on their patrol were either robberies and assault. Compared to the incident that happened today those did not relate to her reason. Perhaps her mind was linking her reason solely to those alarming situations. If she could learn to understand and link those smaller things together with a bigger idea then her hesitation should definitely fade away with time.

"Micchan, lemme give ya some advice."

"Hmm?" she looked at him, chewing on a takoyaki.

"The next time we go on patrol, think about what is important to ya. Don't just think that people's lives are what brings people happiness towards each other."

She tilted her head, lost.

"Think 'bout it this way; when some punk robs someone's store then the owner won't have the necessary goods to make the amount of money they need to probably feed their families. Or, if ya think back at that lady whose purse got stolen... what if the nice lady wanted to buy a toy for her kid for their birthday? What if she just got 'er monthly pay? There are plenty of reasons that could make someone sad because at the same time those things make other people happy. Ya get me?"

Mizuha paused her chewing and furrowed her eyebrows.

The first time Mizuha saw that crying lady with her uncle made her think and wonder. As a kid, she was never a fan of seeing a person suffering because someone close to them got hurt. There was just something about seeing people in pain that make her feel bad.

But if she grew up to be that Hero who gave them hope and reassurance, then she would be satisfied.

 _... I think I don't want to be just that._

But if she did care about the happiness and the well being of a person then it was just as Taishiro said, there are other things that could make people sad and happy.

 _If that's the case, I **shouldn't** be neglecting others when they are in need no matter what kind of situation they find themselves in. I **shouldn't** be hesitating to help those who are in need of it._

 _I don't want to gain popularity, I don't care about the money and I don't want to become the greatest Hero of my generation. I don't want that. I want… **I want** to help people. __I want to protect and help because all their joy is equal._

 _It doesn't matter who they are or in what situation they find themselves in, there is always something **good** that comes out of helping someone._

 _Yes, that's who I want to be._

 _ **"I don't want you attending U.A if you can't forgive yourself. I don't want a cowardly Hero having my back who will fail to help me when I need it. I don't want to be friends with someone who is** scared **to** protect **people."**_

 _I am not scared anymore!_

 _I will do what's right and grow stronger to protect and help those who matter to me and those who need it._

 _I've done it before. I did it during the Entrance Exams and during the USJ attack! It doesn't matter what kind of situation it was, all that matters is that I was capable of doing the right thing!_

 _I will **NOT** hesitate anymore._

 _I **CAN** do this._

 _ **"You have the mark of someone who is willing to face danger for the sake of others. The mark of someone who will go against the worst odds for the sake of others. The mark of someone who is capable of self-sacrifice. That, my dear, is an important part of being a hero."**_

 _Yeah, I've always been capable of doing the right thing._

 _I just need to trust myself._

* * *

"Celsius! Take a left over there, we'll corner him!"

"Already on it!"

Celsius turned around the corner and spotted her target running farther away. She clicked her tongue and approached a rail and easily jumped over it, dropping down to lower ground. She kept running, out of his sight, but kept her own on him as she moved. The guy stopped, stumbling a few times before he caught his balance. She assumed Fatgum ran into him and he was now looking for a escape route. With nowhere else to go, he too jumped over the rail.

Celsius was already underneath him, looking all innocent.

"Crap!" he tried using his Quirk to stick to the wall.

"Too late!" she smirked.

She jumped up and grabbed the back of his shirt, flipped him over her body and slammed him down on the ground. But she didn't stop there, she moved fast and wasted no time in restraining his hands behind his back by sealing his wrists together with ice.

He groaned in pain as she pulled him back on his feet.

She yelped when she felt him struggle against her, kicking his foot back towards her which caused her to accidentally loosen her hold and allowing him to break free.

"That's enough outta ya!"

A large hand landed a chop behind his head. The guy dropped down on his knees and fell face first onto the ground.

The brief worry she felt during his attempt to escape her easily washed away from a wave of relief. She ran a hand across her face and let out a sigh.

Fatgum picked him up, smiling at her, "Ya actually did it! Good job!" he praised.

Celsius glanced at him, giving him a lopsided grin while nodding.

A few minutes ago, the man ran inside a convenience store not too far from where they were and demanded money from the young clerk with a pistol. Mizuha's attention was first caught by the puppies in a store that were displayed behind a glass window. Then it was pulled away when she saw the man running out of the store and someone yelling for help. Mizuha's reaction time was perfect. Her instincts were telling her to run after the man and she did.

Celsius approached the man and patted his body down to try and find what he had stolen a few minutes ago. The plastic bag that contained money was found inside his jacket.

"I'll go give this back!" she said before running off to the convenience store.

Fatgum smiled proudly and watched as she ran up a street.

The location of the store was a bit hard to find since she didn't really pay attention to where it was. She had to look for the pet store as a starting point and then find it. When she entered the store, she saw a young black haired clerk looking grumpy while drumming his fingers against the counter. He looked like he was a little older than her.

The sound of the automatic doors opening when it detected her alerted the young man, making his head perk up.

As soon as she presented the money to the clerk, the man brightened and he was very grateful.

He hastily went around the cash counter and went up to her with a relieved smile. He thanked her as she handed him back the stolen money. He turned around to set it down before turning his head back to look at her as if he realized something.

"Oh, hey! I recognize you! You're Hyoumei Mizuha from U.A! You were in the Sports Festival." he exclaimed when he placed the bag on the counter.

Mizuha froze, "U-Uh... yeah."

The young man smirked and wagged his finger, "Next time, show better sportsmanship." he chuckled at her and then hastily ran over to the freezer to pull out a wrapped chocolate flavored popsicle, "Here, take this as a token of my gratitude." he said while running back to her and then stopping to hold it between them.

"Um..."

Seeing as she made no move to take it, he laughed.

"Come on, take it!" he urged her, taking her hand and then placed the treat in it.

She stared dumbly at the ice cream and then back at the clerk, who simply winked at her, "Keep up the good work, hero~"

Mizuha felt weirded out by his wink but her face reddened from the praise, "Thank you." she mumbled loud enough for him to hear.

The dark haired clerk smiled at her and went back behind the counter which she took that as her cue to leave. When she walked out, she found Fatgum waiting outside for her.

She held up her hand to show him what kind of reward she just got, "He gave me a popsicle."

"And two at that," Fatgum grinned, taking it from her and took off the wrapper without a struggle, revealing a popsicle with two sticks. He evenly split them and handed one to her, "Here ya go." he said while keeping the other one.

"Thanks."

...

...

...

"By the way, your skin is red again."

"... I know." she groaned before chomping down on her treat, annoyed by the heat on her skin.

He muffled a chuckle, "No need to be nervous in front of someone thankin' ya. You're gonna have to get used it, y'know?"

"I know." she repeated, nibbling on her ice cream.

Now they just needed to drop off the thief at the police station and they should resume their patrol for at least another hour.

The silence between them was broken when Mizuha called his name, loud enough for only his ears. He hummed in reply and turned his head towards her. She sheepishly turned in his direction and lowered her popsicle away from her mouth. His yellow eyes widened slight when they saw her smile, a real genuine smile.

"Thank you for your advice. Thanks to you, I was able to find more confidence in myself. It was actually the one thing that was keeping me from acting. You helped me find a better reason to be a hero too."

She was still sort of on a high for being able to do what she wanted. In a way, he could see her eight year old self in that smile. Ever since she arrived at his agency, he figured out she wasn't the type to smile as frequently as she used to. Learning that she also grew to be kind of a liar also didn't help with trying to figure out what she was feeling most of the time. The real smile on her face served as the doorway to see what she truly felt. It was reassuring since he was a little worried about her.

"No problem, kiddo! I'm glad I could help." he grinned and patted her head, "But don't forget, we still gotta work on your hand-to-hand combat. I'm not done helping ya." he quickly reminded her.

Mizuha snapped off a piece of her popsicle with her teeth and brought it inside her mouth. She pushed it to the left side of the inside of her mouth, getting that side cold.

She grinned, "I'm ready for more help!" she said while raising up her treat in the air.

* * *

"Gah, crap!"

Mizuha clasped her jaw and cringed. She yawned and stretched her jaw a little too wide for comfort, causing an uncomfortable crack to sound for her ears to hear. Her habits that involved being nocturnal were still going strong. This time, she got only at least two hours of sleep and that was bad considering how she usually got four. She couldn't remember when she knocked out.

She was on her way to the sort of gym that Fatgum had for his sidekicks to train together or against dummies. During her internship at Fatgum's agency, she made sure to keep away from the other sidekicks since she was too shy to be around the others. So obviously, Mizuha would stay away from training area to avoid any possible judging stares. However, she already figured out that no one usually showed up around the time she woke up.

5:30 AM

No one was there.

Completely deserted.

It was the perfect time to rush inside before anyone else.

She was already well equipped in her hero costume.

Her reason for being in the gym was to wake up her body and hopefully her mind a little more before Fatgum noticed she was always somewhat sluggish in the morning, especially when he announced that they would be training together.

It was simple punches and kicks. The training dummy swung around from each strike she gave.

In the middle of her punch, she felt another yawn coming up. Instead of restraining herself, she stopped moving and placed her fist in front of her mouth and yawned, her eyes narrowing a bit and forming small morning tears from it.

 _WHACK!_

Mizuha stumbled backwards, tripped over her own feet and landed on her back, groaning.

She completely forgot she struck the dummy and carelessly allowed it to hit her back.

Four loud claps accompanied with laughter caught her attention. Mizuha jolted on the floor and quickly rolled onto her stomach to see who the hell was there, she found her mentor.

"Early in the mornin' and you're already kickin' a dummy?" he sounded impressed by her 'dedication'.

 _Not exactly alive though…_

"Yeah." she replied before standing back up on her feet slowly – very slowly.

He left the door open and he casually strode over to her in large steps, "How 'bout we start early?" he grinned.

"Um… I kinda wanna pass on that one…" she took a step back, "Don't really feel like hitting you right now… y'know?"

She couldn't find a better excuse.

Mizuha rubbed her index finger underneath her nose and pretended to looked at it while doing so. She was determined to keep her eyes away from him in a casual manner.

Taishiro leaned down to her eye level, "Or is it because your tryin' to hide somethin'?"

She lowered her finger.

"No." she answered quickly with a straight face.

…

She saw his hand reach for her.

Mizuha made a move to back away form his reach.

Her reaction time lagged for a few seconds, allowing him to grab the back of her jacket and to hold her up in front of him. The girl didn't bother fighting against him and simply fell limp in his hold, she felt like she was a child that was about to get scolded.

"How did you know?" she crossed her arms over her chest.

Taishiro scoffed, "It's all over your face." he brushed a single finger underneath her eyes, emphasizing on the bags underneath them.

Mizuha squinted from his touch and scowled, "Okay, I swear on my grandmother's grave that I normally don't have eye bags. It's just that this time I got less than my usual hours."

Taishiro spluttered, "Normally? Less than usual?!" he repeated with eyes wide in disbelief before supporting a serious look on his face, "How many hours?"

She wasn't sure which role he was playing right now. Was he being her mentor or some type of big brother?

She averted her eyes, finding the corner of the room suddenly so fascinating before muttering, "Four or three."

Needless to say, she got a scolding from him.

He went about something along the lines of how she can't protect anyone as a hero if she can't protect her own health. And knowing how this guy was a food person, she didn't dare to mention her eating habits.

* * *

"What?"

"Ya gotta leave after 12 PM, right? I'll treat ya to some food before ya leave for your train."

Sunday was the day her internship was finally coming to an end. She didn't know if any of her other classmates were still doing theirs but Taishiro decided that she was done for her week long learning experience.

Mizuha gaped at him, "You're treating me to food as what? Like as my internship-boss or something...?"

"Nah. Normal." he laughed.

Mizuha fist pumped, "Free food!" she cheered, glad to finally have some type of freedom to act the way she pleased. During her internship, she still had to maintain some type of mentor-protégé relationship for the sake of it since she knew that if she were to pick another agency; she couldn't act so familiar with her superior since it might not please them.

No way in hell was she ever going to act like this in front of her classmates.

At least... not yet.

...

...

...

Just because she was having a day off didn't mean the villains were taking one.

On the way to the restaurant, they ran into a crazy bombing maniac who was throwing little explosives that were creating big ones when they were all piled up together. Inevitably, Mizuha had to do a little fighting in her casual clothes.

In the end, she enveloped his hands in water spheres to stop him from tossing any more explosives.

What they didn't realize is that he left a huge stock pile somewhere behind them and it was set to detonate in a seconds.

Fatgum ended up throwing himself on the pile, absorbing all the shock of the impact into his body. A muffled boom went off beneath him, making his huge body jump a little.

Worried, Mizuha rushed over to him and crouched down to touch him, "Hey... you good?" she asked and then yelped when suddenly rose up and paused. Then he whipped his head towards he and gestured with his hands for her to back away.

"What?"

He moved his hands more frantically.

"C-Can you speak? I don't really—"

Then he made an exploding motion.

...

Mizuha shouted out of fear and realization before bolting as far away as she could.

 _BOOM!_

Mizuha stumbled when she felt the impact shockwave reach her. She fell on her side but then propped herself up so she can glance behind her shoulder with a horrified expression. As the smoke began to clear, she got back up and approached the spot where Taishiro was last spotted.

 _"Fwaah."_

She heard him let out a heavy breath. He was right in front of her.

"That was _way too close_."

The girl stared at the sight in front of her. He was sitting on his rear, legs spread out with his hands behind him to prop him up in his sitting position.

One problem though...

Taishiro wasn't fat... he was freakin' skinny. His normal orange sweater was literally torn apart leaving him only in his mask, knee pads and gloves.

Mizuha stared at him with her eyes enlarged and her lips closed tightly.

 ** _What on earth?!_**

 _And clearly, the person in the room was far from fat._

 _"Yeah, well... I turn into a 'normal' guy sometimes." He joked with a grin._

 ** _Sooo_** _this_ ** _is what he was talking about?_**

She dropped down on her knees and peered at him curiously before grabbing his face and squishing his cheeks, just like she did was she was eight. Feeling the sense of deja vu once more, Taishiro stared back at the girl with a tired look, waiting for her to be done with her 'verification'.

"Are ya done?" he pinched her nose lightly.

"Ouch!" she pulled away while slapping away his hand from her nose.

They both got back up on their feet with Mizuha helping Taishiro (who quickly to assured her he was fine). Luckily, they didn't have to escort the man to the police station like they normal do since the police arrived at the scene. One officer went up to them and told the mentor and his intern that they would take it from there and that the assistance of heroes were no longer necessary.

Mizuha waited for the police to handcuff him before she evaporated the water around his hands.

She looked at him, "So now what?"

Taishiro sighed, ruffling his yellow hair, " _Now_ , **I** take the day off because I have no more fat." he said before turning around and announcing that they were heading back to the agency so that he could pick up some clothes.

And during the whole time, Mizuha stared at him as if he was some newly discovered creature.

"I'm hungry." he whined.

While he went to go change, Mizuha figured she might as well wear her uniform since they were back at the agency where her stuff was. They spent enough time stopping that maniac in the streets that now they only had time to eat before she had to depart.

...

...

...

With Taishiro now dressed in a black hoodie with white shorts along with shoes that were more his size in his current form, they claimed the seats that were closest to the window. While she settled with eating a bowl of ramen, Taishiro ended up ordering a whole buffet to the table. Not that she was complaining, it was his money after all.

 _He wasn't kidding when he said he was hungry..._

Mizuha slurped up her noodles and chewed, watching him gobble down all the food in an unclean manner. This guy was really living up to his hero name, the first half especially.

She swallowed her noodles and pressed the tip of her chopsticks against her bottom lip, musing over his Quirk. It was her second time seeing him in this state but this was the first time seeing saw why it happened. She knew about his Quirk. She already knew that eating food and getting fat was required for him to use his Quirk fully since it's his fat that absorbs stuff.

She lowered her chopsticks and tilted her head, "Your fat disappeared back there..." she noted, "Why?"

At her question, he looked up with cheeks that reminded her of hamster stuffing its mouth. He swallowed his food, "There's a limit to how much I can store in my fat. That boom back there was too much for me to handle." he explained while scratching the back of his neck and shrugging.

"Really?"

"We all have limits." he reminded her, "I'm no exception."

"Do you at least know how long it'll take to get back your fat?" she wondered half-curious and half-concerned.

He smiled, appreciating the hint of concern in her voice, "Four or five days."

She relaxed, "That's good."

Then there was a moment of silence.

...

"For a second there," she puffed out a laugh, "I almost thought you were about to let out a massive fart or something." she admitted while muffling her laughs with the palm of her hand.

Taishiro paused, "What?" he squawked.

"Sorry sorry~"

* * *

"Didn't forget anythin'?"

"Nope."

"Alright," he placed his hands on his hips, "then I guess this is goodbye." he smiled.

Mizuha made a face at that, "Do you have to say it like that?"

Taishiro gave her the same face and bent down to her eye level, "How else do ya want me to say it?"

The girl shrugged, "I dunno."

After having their fill, they left the restaurant and Taishiro offered to walk her to the train station. The walk was far from silent, they spent the time talking about the growth she managed to achieve in the week they had together. He definitely kept his word when he said he would improve Mizuha's hand-to-hand combat prowess. She was even starting to develop her own type of fighting style now that she got a better hang of it. Their last few minutes together were also used to talk about other things such as the comparison between eight year old Mizuha and the current one.

Now, they were standing in front of the train station and it was finally time for Mizuha to head back home now that her week long internship had finally come to an end. She had to admit, the week passed pretty quick.

When she patted her back pocket to check if her wallet was there, she was suddenly enveloped into a tight hug and was lifted off the ground. Her surprise was complete silent as she processed what just happened to her. Taishiro's arms were wrapped around her middle and he effortlessly held her up with a huge smile.

Mizuha stared at him in confusion, slowly taking in their current display.

"The heck?" she tilted her head, not even struggling against his hold.

His continued to beam a smile, "It was nice havin' ya at my agency Micchan."

Mizuha blinked. Then she relaxed in his hold and gave him a smile, "Thank you for inviting me to your agency, Taishiro." she thanked before reaching down and wrapping her arms around his neck. The older man laughed and reached up with one hand to pat her on the back.

When he saw the small genuine smile on her face, his own stretched wider on his face. She was happy and satisfied with her experience, and that was good enough for him. His job was the help her gain experience and help her grow during the one week internship, and he was certain that she had changed a bit with her time with him.

He gently set her down on the ground and ruffled her hair, much to her horror. She hastily patted her head to check for any hair that was out of place. Mizuha was never one to really concerned herself over makeup or looking nice, but if there was one thing she considered girly and cared about, then it would be her hair.

As he watched her comb her hair with her fingers, he was nice enough to ease down a standing hair she missed. His fingers lingered a little longer when they slipped off her head as he took in her appearance, tilting his head.

"Y'know, you look a lot better with your natural hair color. Platinum doesn't really suit you." he remarked, voicing out his own opinion after remembering what she used to look like when she was younger.

Mizuha blinked. Then she reached for a handful of her hair and brought it in front of her.

Platinum.

It's true. This was never her real hair color.

Her hair natural color was like Shiran's, platinum blonde.

Her features softened as she remembered her reason for dyeing it in that color. A year after the incident, she already came up with the idea of staying away from her brother, which she was successful in doing. But, every time she looked at herself in the mirror she could still some sort of resemblance, especially with the hair. It couldn't be helped, they were family after all. But it always bothered her. Therefore, she ended up dyeing her hair the same color as her uncle, the man she was striving to learn from and be a bit more like. By making herself look more like her uncle and following a bit in his footsteps, she would occasionally forget about Shiran and not dwell on the past.

However, she had no reason to keep this color now. She wasn't running away from anything anymore. In fact, this was probably the only thing that wasn't considered 'true' now.

She wanted her old color back now.

She wanted to be more like herself again.

Mizuha slumped her shoulders and let out a sigh, "Yeah, I miss my old color now." she chuckled, "I think I'll change it back once I get back home." she decided before throwing her hair back behind her.

When she looked back at him, she saw a digital display of the current time behind him. Her train was leaving in ten minutes and that was enough to set her punctual senses in motion. As if someone lit a fire under her, she jumped in her skin and started moving.

"I gotta go now! Bye!" she gave him a quick hug, catching him by surprise, before snatching her suitcase off the floor and speed walking to her platform. She twisted her body and waved goodbye at him.

"Be sure to get some more sleep, Celsius!" he said while waving his hand back.

"Yeah, yeah! No promises though!" she nearly laughed when she turned back around to watch where she was going.

Taishiro grinned mischievously. He brought his hands up near his mouth and yelled out, "See ya, wifey!"

Mizuha nearly tripped over her own shoes, horrified. She whipped around, red faced and shook her fist in the air, "Stop calling me that!" she yelled back before quickly dashing off, running away to avoid any other teasing from him.

The last thing she saw before she turned was the playful grin on his face.

* * *

...

...

...

This time, the ride home was a lonely one. She sat next to the window once again to try and see him when the train arrived at his station. Unfortunately, he wasn't there.

 _Hm, well it can't be helped. I don't know when he left or when leaves his dad's agency._

A sudden remembrance of something vital made her jolt in her seat.

She growled and clenched her fists.

She _couldn't wait_ to get home.

The moment Mizuha returned home, she acted like a police officer with a search warrant. First, she searched the target's room and then went straight to the living room once she couldn't find him. It didn't take her too long to find what she was seeking and when she did, she took off her backpack and literally threw it at her target with all her might.

Shiran, who was watching TV, was thrown off the living room couch from the impact of her bag. He landed on the ground with and looked up like a puppy who just got kicked. With the bag in his hands, he gaped at Mizuha.

"Mizuha?!" he spluttered as he sat up before quickly scampering away from his sister who was approaching him... with a rather dark expression.

"You told him everything I said as a kid!" she lunged at him, tackling him down to the ground.

Shiran yelped, trying to fight off his sister who was straddling him, "You fell in love with him as a kid! He had to know he did something so important in your life! Not to mention that's also what led you to give him your first—!"

Mizuha screamed out of embarrassment, "DON'T SPEAK OF IT OR I SWEAR I'LL PUT YOU BACK IN THE HOSPITAL!" she threatened with her hands around his neck.

It seemed like she was already in the process of doing it.

"MOMMY, MIZUHA IS TRYING TO KILL ME!"

"WOULD YOU TWO CALM DOWN?!" Mizuki screeched from the kitchen.

* * *

 **Mizuha's internship ends beautifully.. sorta (⁰▿⁰)**

 **So, yeah.** **She needed to believe in herself again.** **Mizuha's hesitation came from her own lack of confidence of making the right choice in fear of screwing up (which she is afraid of doing).** **She made the decision to back off from a lot of things and that ultimately made her not trust herself to do the right thing.**

 **Book I's cover was Mizuha. This time, the cover is Byakuren and Mizuha (with her natural hair color). I am really proud of that drawing :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Final Exams PT1

Mizuha leaned back in her seat and was on her phone when Kirishima walked past her desk and greeted her. All she did was raise her hand and greeted him back silently, too absorbed into her phone. Just as he was about to continue walking past her, he did a double take and quickly went around her desk to stare at her face to face. He grabbed the chair in front of her desk, turned it around and sat in it. Mizuha's eyes left her screen and looked at the curious boy in front of her.

"Yes?"

"Your hair... it's different." he remarked while slightly tilting his head to the side.

Mizuha shook her head, "Nah, it's just back to the way it was."

Then she lowered her phone, resting it on her lap before sitting up properly and pointed at his hair, "I had it dyed like you."

"Really?" surprised by the revelation and the fact that she still remembered how he used to look like.

"Yup." she nodded.

Kirishima then noticed the bandage wrapped around her neck. Mizuha saw him staring at it and was about the reassure him that it was fine, but Sero came crashing into Kirishima and aggressively shook his shoulder while laughing.

"Kirishima! Kirishima! Look! It's Bakugo!"

At the same time, she and Kirishima turned their heads to look at where Sero was pointing.

Kirishima instantly jumped out of his seat and started laughing.

Mizuha leaned forward and planted her forehead on her desk to hide her smile but that didn't hide the fact she was laughing at him. Her entire being was shaking with suppressed laughs.

"Stop laughing! My hair's gotten used to it, so it won't go back to normal even after I wash it! Hey, stop laughing! I'll murder you both! And don't think I don't see you laughing there Mole Face!"

She heard Sero wheeze, "I'd like to see you try, Side-Part Boy!"

The nickname made it even harder not to laugh out loud.

 _Oh god, I need to calm down! Too much!_

With a silly smile, Mizuha lifted up her head and immediately placed her hands on her ears to block out the sound in attempt to calm down.

"What'd you say?!" Bakugo raged, making his hair spring back into its usual spikey style.

Mizuha spluttered out her laugh and lowered her hands.

"It's back!"

Byakuren, who was curious about the noise at the front of the class, walked to Mizuha's desk when she saw her cracking up.

"What's going on?"

Mizuha waved her hand to dismiss, "I-It's nothing! You just missed everything." she said with a voice that was a little louder than usual thanks to her laughter.

Byakuren pouted for a few seconds before grinning and pulling out his phone. He grabbed a chair and dragged it next to her, planting himself in it and throwing an arm around her shoulders. Mizuha yelped in surprise and then shot him a glare. Then she noticed how he pulled out his phone in front of the two of them and started browsing through the internet.

"Nice to see you changed back to your normal hair color." he said without even looking at her.

Mizuha shrugged, "It was time I did anyway."

"Here, here!" he said eagerly before bringing the phone closer to them.

It was a short video, probably five or seven seconds.

It was in a loop.

There was two people falling down from an alarming height with no sign of a safe landing.

The bigger person used their Quirk to save the smaller one from hitting the ground with water-

 _Wait what._

Mizuha swiped the his phone out of his hands and stared at his phone, "What the hell?! That's me!"

Byakuren released her and laughed, "I just found it by chance. It wasn't really a viral video."

She gaped. In a way she was horrified that she was on the internet but at the same time she sort of proud of herself for seeing what she did.

"Good job in catching that kid." Byakuren praised, very proud of his friend.

To a normal person, seeing this video would simply pass it off as a someone saving a kid from danger. But for Byakuren, it was a sign that something had changed inside Mizuha. That along with the fact that her hair was different. Her dyed hair color was defined by how she turned away from a lot of things, seeing her natural hair color was like she finally stopped running away.

The white haired boy chuckled and ruffled her hair, making her frown and shove his phone against his face.

"… But the ones who changed the most, or at least went through the most, were you four, right?"

Kaminari's voice caught all their attention since he spoke when there was a brief moment of silence.

Byakuren and Mizuha turned around in their seats.

"Oh yeah! The Hero Killer!"

"I'm glad you guys made it out alive! Seriously."

Sero and Kirishima said while in having their jackets held in Bakugo's grasp.

"I was worried." admitted Yaoyorozu.

"I heard Endeavor saved you, right?" mentioned Sato.

"That's amazing!" Hagakure exclaimed, "As expected from the number two Hero!"

Curiously, Mizuha looked at Todoroki as his father was mentioned. He slowly looked down at his desk and then nodded after being quiet for a few seconds, "Yeah. He saved us."

"I saw on the news that the Hero Killer was connected to the League of Villains. Imagining someone that scary coming to USJ freaks me out." Ojiro admitted.

Mizuha didn't like that thought. Hearing about how he killed Heroes and didn't even hesitate to attack students made her mind wonder about what kind of casualties they would have had if he was present during the USJ incident.

Byakuren frowned, "That would of been really bad."

Mizuha nodded.

"He _is_ scary, but did you see the video, Ojiro?" then asked Kaminari.

"Video? You mean of the Hero Killer?"

"Yeah!" nodded Kaminari, "Seeing that, you can see how he's really single-minded and, like, tenacious. Doesn't it almost make you think he's cool?"

Mizuha's jaw dropped and stared at the blond, _Watch your mouth boy! He's standing right there!_

Midoriya was the first to react and quickly called his name out with a panicked look.

Kaminari looked at the green haired boy with his smile before noticing how a certain individual was staring right back at him. He flinched and held a hand in front of his mouth before apologizing.

Iida shook his head, "No it's fine." he assured before raising bandaged arm and looking down at it, "It's true that he was tenacious. I understand how people could think he's cool. But he chose purging as a result of his beliefs. No matter what he thinks, that part is definitely wrong."

Mizuha turned back around and placed her hands on her desk. She never watched the video but she read the written articles about the Hero Killer Stain. Reading about how he thought Heroes should not be those who seek compensation for their acts but rather those who do self-sacrifice was something that really shook her. He had a valid reason but he acted in a way that wasn't good. She saw his point. It was true that some people wanted to become a Hero in order to earn money but sometimes it's not just that. She was sure there were a lot of Heroes who started off with wanting compensation but ended up with really being dedicated with their duty to save people.

 _... Maybe he just didn't know that? Hm... what do I know?_

"... It is time to commence class! Everyone, take your seats!"

* * *

After having class with All Might, everyone was now changing in the locker rooms. Mizuha, who was usually done changing when the girls would start taking off their costumes. She still wasn't confident enough to join in on their conversation so she still kept a little distance.

As she stood in front of the mirror, she watched herself reach behind her neck. Her fingers danced around her neck as they reached for the place where the bandage tied. With a single hand, she easily removed the bandage and placed it on the counter of the sink. She tried tilting her head upwards to check out the wound, but she had a hard time seeing. Plus, the light wasn't really helping since it looked like it was dying above her.

She frowned in annoyance.

Timidly, she glanced behind her shoulder and looked at the girls talking as they changed.

 _... Who can I ask? Not Uraraka... I wouldn't know how to respond correctly her usual happy self... Ashido? No she might ask questions... not that I would mind but..._

Then her eyes landed on Jiro.

 _Maybe..._

Before anyone could catch her staring like a weirdo, she shoved her belongings into her pocket and suitcase. She took a deep breath, turned and walked to Jiro. When she saw that the other girl noticed her, she almost had a mini panic and nearly turned the other way.

 _FOR GOD'S SAKE GET A DAMN GRIP._

"Hey can you check out something for me?" Mizuha asked with a blank look.

Seeing the usual loner girl approach was not a usual sight. The dark haired girl smiled at Mizuha, "Sure, what's up?

She felt a little more at ease.

Mizuha slightly tilted her head upwards since she was taller, "I got a dagger wound during my internship and I was wondering how it looked now. Do you mind checking?" she asked while pointing at the place.

"Ouch, that must have stung when it was fresh." Jiro commented as she leaned closer to look.

Mizuha nodded, "Yep." she said while popping the last letter.

The shorter girl moved away from her, "It's not bad. It's definitely closed."

Mizuha lowered her head, fished in her pocket before pulling out the bandage, "You think I can throw this away then?" she asked, unsure.

"I would."

"Oh okay. Thanks-"

 _"Mineta-kun, stop it this instant! Peeping is definitely a criminal act!"_

Jiro and Mizuha turned their heads towards the sound, the wall.

That was Iida shouting.

The other girls in the changing room also heard it.

 _"My little Mineta is already a criminal act!"_

Everyone except for Mizuha started to use their arms and shirts to hide from the unseen hole. Being the only one who was safe from being peeked on, Mizuha walked towards the wall and searched for the hole that connected to the opposite gender's changing room. Whoever created this hole to satisfy their perverted urges straight up disgusted Mizuha. The person that made this hole left their legacy for all the people who were perverted.

This time, it was Mineta.

 _"Yaoyorozu's ample yaoyoro-boobs! Ashido's slender waist!-"_

"Where is it..."

 _"Hagakure's floating underwear-"_

""Found it~" Mizuha muttered.

 _"Uraraka's fine Uraraka-body! Asui's unexpected boobie-!"_

Mizuha planted her palm against the hole, sending a wave of water to spur on the another side. She smirked when she heard the little guy yelp out of surprise followed by the sound of him falling on the ground.

 _Oh but I'm not done~_

While humming, she made the water in between the gap of the two changing rooms froze, but the water that made it past the hole continued to move. She placed her ear against the wall, near the hole and carefully manipulated the water.

 _"It's Hyoumei's water!"_

 _"She's trying to drown me!"_

 _It's not on his mouth, good._

She froze it.

Mizuha snickered when she heard him scream.

The girl stepped away from the wall and turned to the other girls.

"Thank you, Hyoumei." that was Hagakure.

"How despicable," huffed Yaoyorozu, "We should properly plug that hole, this ice won't last forever."

"What did you do to him?" Ashido asked curiously.

Mizuha grinned and shrugged, "Nothing much, I froze him to the floor."

The pink girl laughed, lowered her costume and raised up a hand to her. The girl didn't hestitate to lightly slap her palm against the pink one while giggling.

When she lowered her hand, she noticed that Jiro was staring at the plugged hole while slumping.

"Um... thanks for checking my wound, Jiro."

"Yeah..."

Mizuha stared at her for a few more seconds and then slowly turned to walk out of the girls changing room, _What's wrong with her?_

When she exited the changing room, she moved to the side to crouch down and looked inside her bag to double check if she had everything. When she closed it, she saw a pair of shoes stop next to her in her peripheral vision. She paused, looked at the shoes and then looked up at the owner. It was Todoroki. The girl rose up and greeted him before walking side by side with him.

"So, what happened to the little pervert?" she grinned.

"He's free and roaming again."

Mizuha frowned, "Don't tell me you melted it..."

Todoroki smiled, "I was almost tempted not to." he admitted.

The shorter one laughed softly at his confession.

* * *

"Well, it's almost time for summer vacation," Aizawa announced, "but of course, it wouldn't make sense for you to rest the whole month."

Mizuha blinked.

 _Yes, it does. That's why it's called summer vacation._

"During summer vacation, we'll have a training camp in the woods!"

Just like when they had to vote for a class rep, the whole class cheered. And just like when they cheered, Mizuha wasn't as enthusiastic.

She was the type to just sit at home and do nothing while she recharged for the next term. Mizuha resisted the urge to slump against her desk. Aizawa was going to make sure they were still working hard. She shouldn't be surprised since she knew what she was getting into when she signed up for U.A but... summer vacation into summer school? Were they even going to have time for themselves or anything like that? A break?!

 _"However."_

Mizuha pulled herself away from her thoughts.

"Those who do not pass the final exam before that… will be in summer school hell."

Mizuha frowned and leaned back before crossing her arms.

 _I should definitely pass the written exams. I always pass exams._

* * *

 ** _Final week of June..._**

The bell rang.

"Okay, that's it for class. There is only one week left until the final exams. You all are studying properly, right?" Aizawa collected all his papers and started walking to the door. "I'm sure you already know, but it won't just be a written exam. There's also a practical component. Make sure you train your mind and bodies at the same time. That's all."

He shut the door.

...

...

"I haven't studied at all!" exclaimed Ashido and Kaminari.

The blond groaned and grabbed his head, "With the Sports Festival and internship, I didn't study at all!"

Byakuren pushed his chair back and stood up. From his seat, he saw MIzuha's back and saw how her head was tilted down, indicating that she was on her phone. He made a beeline for her desk, walked around it and stood in front of her.

She didn't even look up from her phone.

"Mizuha."

"Piss off."

Byakuren pouted and the crouched in front of her desk until his chin was resting on her table, "Mizu-chan!"

She ignored him.

"Math! Just math!"

"No! Just no!"

"Oh, come on! You didn't help me during midterms!"

Mizuha's eyes shot up from her screen and glared daggers at him, "And I sure as hell won't now."

In midterms, Byakuren ranked sixteenth while she ranked second with Iida (much to her annoyance).

Just because they ranked high in middle school didn't mean they would in U.A. Saying that they were the smartest ones in middle school would be half-true. They were never at the top when they started middle school. Mizuha and Byakuren were at the bottom of their class and nearly failed their year. They procrastinated way too much. The fear of failing her year and doing it again pushed MIzuha to do her best at everything. The fear pushed her so hard that she developed the mentality of needing to be the best in all her classes in order to be assured that she would definitely fail her class.

It helped her develop a better memory and understanding in school work.

That didn't mean she was the perfect student.

She was the cramming type for exams because apparently pressure was the best motivator.

Math was always Byakuren's weakest subject and to make up for that he would usually ask Mizuha to tutor him and review things.

But she wasn't going to do that anymore during high school. She was done tutoring him.

MIzuha rolled her eyes and set her phone on her table, "I'll only help you if you need help with something you don't understand… and I don't mean RIGHT BEFORE the final exam."

Betrayed, Byakuren scowled, "You never helped me before this final!"

She sighed and propped her face up with her hand, "Yeah, that's 'cause you never asked for help. What? Am I supposed to read your mind and go 'wow this kid knows nothing about quadratics and algebera'."

Knowing how stubborn she was, Byakuren gave up and walked away with a depressed look.

Mizuha patted his back a few times as he walked by her, "Get used to it boy. You'll have to understand stuff on your own now. Be confident."

* * *

...

...

...

"Is it for here or to go?"

Byakuren smiled, "To go."

"Alright."

The lady behind the counter easily placed his food inside a styrofoam food container and gently placed it inside a plastic back before sliding it towards him and calculated his total. After a few more words, Byakuren paid for his meal and started walking to the door.

Then he stopped when he saw how somber it looked outside the windows.

He took off his earphones and scowled, "What the hell... it was so bright just a moment ago.." he muttered under his breath.

He left his house to grab some food outside and the walk was only ten minutes away. He didn't bring an umbrella with him since it was so hot and the skies showed no signs of rain.

Byakuren hurriedly left the place and started making his way home.

"You dumbass it's X not Y! And where the hell did that three come from?!"

"I don't know! I just followed an exercise that was similar!"

"Well you followed wrong idiot!"

Byakuren's shoes suddenly felt glued to the pavement since he stopped in a way that made it seem like it. He turned his head and found Bakugo and Kirishima. The first was angrily shoving his phone in front of Kirishima's face.

The white haired boy approached them and grinned, "Hey guys!"

Hearing the familiar voice, the two boys turned their heads. He was greeted by a surprised look and a glare. The surprised one immediately beamed a smile and waved at him while the glaring one scoffed and looked away.

"Kyouran!"

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Byakuren.

"None of your business!" barked Bakugo.

"Bakugo's helping me study for finals!" Kirishima replied, clearly very happy to receive help from the angry bomber.

The white haired boy pouted, "Lucky... at least you have someone helping you..."

The red haired student tilted his head, "Hyoumei doesn't wanna help you?"

Byakuren shook his head, "She-"

A rain drop landed on Byakuren's nose.

Another landed on Kirishima's cheek.

"Are you fucking serious?!" Bakugo growled, "This is because you woke up late!" he glared at Kirishima.

"I said I was sorry didn't I?!"

Byakuren clicked his tongue, "We gotta get out of here before it gets worse."

More rain was starting to fall.

Kirishima, who was covering his head with his bag, whined, "I didn't even bring an umbrella!"

The white haired boy was covering his head too with his food, "You guys need a dry place to study? I can bring you to a place that's close by!"

"Hah?! Don't go deciding shit!"

"Oh man, really?! Where?"

"Follow me!"

"Oi! DON'T IGNORE ME!"

...

...

...

They got wet but it wasn't so bad. They were all in front of a house's front door, sheltered from the rain.

"Your house?" Kirishima asked, panting.

Byakuren shrugged, "It's like my house." he replied before knocking on the door.

He knocked again when no one answered.

Bakugo and Kirishima observed him from behind. When knocking didn't seem to work, he pulled out his phone and sent someone a quick message.

"... the hell it says read but still no answer... you know what..."

Byakuren shoved his phone back in his pocket and turned towards the wall. They watched him open lid they never noticed next to the door frame and unlocked the front door. When he opened the door, he placed the key back where it belonged and entered the house. He looked over his shoulder and quickly ushered his two classmates to come in.

Kirishima and Bakugo followed after him and took off their shoes.

The house was very dark thanks to no lights being switched on and the dark clouds outside. It was very quiet too.

The red haired boy ventured further into the house and looked around curiously.

Then he froze.

There was a couple of standing picture frames on top of a large wooden cabinet.

The pictures.

It wasn't just any picture. It was pictures of a younger looking Mizuha.

An award with her name on it that was hanging on the wall confirmed everything.

They were in Mizuha's house.

Kirishima paled, "Kyouran! This isn't your house!" he whispered.

"This is _her_ house!" Bakugo hissed after noticing the pictures.

Byakuren chuckled and gave them a close eyed smile before placing a finger in front of his lips. He used his other hand to point at a hallway that had light seeping into the dark hallway. He motioned them to follow him. Kirishima shook his head quickly, not wanting to freak out and disturb the unknown residence in the house. Bakugo took a step back, contemplating whether or not he should just leave and ditch Kirishima. When they didn't budge, Byakuren grabbed Kirishima's arm and pulled him along causing the red head to latch onto Bakugo's arm as a way of saying he wasn't going in there alone. After much tugging and quiet swearing, Byakuren was able to bring them to the room but they refused to go past the doorway.

They both peeked inside and were greeted with the sight of a messy floor. Papers were scattered around the floor and the desk had a lot of papers with sloppy hand writing written on it. There was also a notebook standing and tilted back against the wall in front of the desk to support it. There was a couple of small anime posters on the wall and a single brown pin-board that held four certificates for excellence in four different subjects. And just underneath it lied a resting figure.

It was Mizuha.

She was facing the wall and laying in her left side, showing her back towards them. A winnie the poo blanket was wrapped around her as she slept on top of her made bed. Kirishima inched further away from the door when he noticed she was sleeping.

Byakuren merely crept into her room and leaned back against her white desk.

"Mizuha! Mizuha!"

* * *

"... zuha! Mizuha!"

Being the light sleeper she was, her eyes easily opened and she glanced behind her shoulder in confusion. Her friend was standing in the middle of her room behind her...

 _Wait._

... _What the fuck?_

Mizuha narrowed her eyes and leaned back to have a better angle, "Did you just come into my house without knocking?!" she asked, dumbfounded.

Byakuren stuck his tongue out, "So? Come on, wake up and go to the living room. You got guests to take care of."

She sat up on her bed and instantly noticed two faces just outside her room. She already recognized who they were and was even more confused. Then she heard the heavy rain outside her window, giving her a small explanation as to why they were in her house.

The ash blond stared back at her like as if seeing her was no big deal while the red head waved as a greeting and offered her an apologetic smile, "We kind of got stuck in the rain... Kyouran brought us here... we thought it was his house."

Mizuha snapped her head towards Byakuren and scowled.

The white haired boy just shrugged, "I said it was _like_ my house." he said before walking out her room and past the two boys, heading straight for the living room. The two boys followed after him into the living room, leaving Mizuha still in a state of confusion.

"Come on out Mizuha." she heard him say and it looked like he was turning on the lights in her house now that the hallway outside her room was bright.

The girl ran a hand across her face, groaning into her hand. Before she fell asleep, she finished memorizing a chapter for Modern Hero Art History and decided to just take a nap and take it easy now that she only had one more to know. She wasn't prepared for a random gathering in her house.

Mizuha lazily shuffled off her bed and grabbed the nearest sweater that was hanging behind her door. She walked into her living room with her hood on and her phone in her right hand. She found Byakuren eating on the table where her computer was while Bakugo and Kirishima sat on the couch with notebooks out on her living room table.

 _Making themselves at home, huh?_

Mizuha dropped herself on the long couch, sitting next to Kirishima. She pulled her legs up, propped her head up on the armrest and frowned.

"I'm surprised Bakugo is still here..." she remarked out loud.

"You really think I'm about to go back out there?" Bakugo pointed at her window. It was really pouring outside for a hot summer day.

While still facing the computer, Byakuren added how her place was perfect since it was close by and it had an AC in her living room to cool them down.

Feeling a little shy for intruding in her home, Kirishima rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm surprised you haven't kicked us out..."

"I-"

"She doesn't mind anyway."

Mizuha chucked a couch pillow at his head.

"Basically what he said. I don't really mind as long as you down damage my house."

"Don't look at me!" Bakugo looked away from her.

"I know who you are and I trust that you guys won't create problems in my house if I let you use my place as a meeting place for a study." She explained before covering her mouth and yawning into her sleeve, "Besides, I'm used to having people over at my house."

As she grew up, she developed the habit of inviting her elementary school friends over to her house. She liked having Byakuren come over when she was alone at home during middle school since it helped fill in the void of loneliness she felt some times. Her mom even started buying soft drinks for her small fridge so that Byakuren could have something to drink whenever he came over. She even bought snacks just in case they got hungry... or more like when he got hungry because some times she was just too lazy to get some food in her own system.

Kirishima smiled at her, "Well thanks for letting us stay here."

"This is only a one time thing!" Bakugo retorted quickly.

This made a grin creep up on Mizuha's face, "Pfft, you could at least say 'thank you' like Kirishima but I guess that would be too hard, right?"

"FUCKING THANKS." he nearly broke the mechanical pencil.

Mizuha laughed, "There ya go~"

Eventually, Mizuha and Byakuren decided to leave the two alone by staying away from the living room. With the rain pouring, Mizuha allowed her friend to borrow her notes so that he could continue studying for finals.

* * *

"You're open on the left!" Shiran warned as he zoomed towards her.

She heeded her brother's warning and quickly turned to block his leg and then gripped his ankle tightly. For a second, her brother smirked before shifting his position, making her stumble forward. As soon as he grip loosened, he retracted his leg and extended it back, kicking her back by hitting her shoulder.

Mizuha stumbled backwards. Her brother grabbed one of her arms and swung her to the side before pushing her down to the ground, pinning her down.

"You were close." Shiran said, "You need to work on paying attention to your surroundings."

"... yeah... I know..." mumbled Mizuha, exhausted from the nonstop training with her brother.

When she asked her uncle to train with her, he quickly refused and said that as a teacher he couldn't help her for finals. She nearly called him out for being unfair until she slowly thought of about how he was right. In a way, it would sort of be cheating. When she asked her brother, he was more than happy to help. With the school's permission, Shiran and Mizuha trained in one of the many training buildings on campus.

They've been at it for three hours.

It was amazing how Shiran was already back in shape.

His five year coma didn't penalize his abilities.

The older man got off the younger girl and slowly helped her up. He patted her clothes and dusted off the place that could have been a little dirty.

"Let's take a break, alright?"

Mizuha nodded, "Yeah okay." she swallowed after taking in a deep breathe.

Her brother placed an arm around her shoulder and guided her back to the spot where their water bottles rested.

* * *

They spent three days doing the written test.

The questions were fairly easy for Mizuha. If she couldn't find the answer for one question then she took it easy and finished the rest before coming back to the question. When she did her exams, she always rushed when she knew the answers. That way, she'd have a lot of time to focus on the ones to were more difficult.

On the third day, she finished her exam fifteen minutes before the end and decided to just flip over her paper and drop her head on her desk.

Aizawa, who was watching the class for any signs of cheating, didn't really approve of Mizuha going to sleep during an exam.

But she was done and she wasn't bothering anyone, so he let her be.

When the day of the practical exam came, Class 1-A gathered at the Central Plaza dressed in their Hero costumes.

However, waiting for them at the Central Plaza was not what they were really expecting. Apparently, some of her classmates got information from someone in Class 1-B and was told that they'd be fighting robots just like the ones during the Entrance Exam.

But instead, Ectoplasm, Cementoss, Power Loader, Snipe, Present Mic, Eraserhead, Joker, Thirteen and Midnight were standing before them.

Why were they there?

"Now… We will begin the practical exam." Aizawa announced with his usual tired expression. "Of course, it is possible to fail this exam. If you want to go to the training camp, then don't many any stupid mistakes. I expect that you all have gathered information ahead of time and have some idea of what you will be doing."

"We're fighting robots warriors like at the Entrance Exam, right?" Kaminari was the first to burst with confidence followed by Ashido.

"Too bad!"

Mizuha's eyes landed on the spot that was currently bulging in her homeroom teacher's scarf, freaking her out a little.

A familiar white figure suddenly popped out of his scarf, "For various reasons, the exam will be different starting this time!"

 _... how long was he in there for?_

"Principal Nezu!"

"Different…?"

"From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat and Hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting," explained the Principal while easily climbing off Aizawa's body with the use of an end of his scarf, "So… We'll have you form teams of two to fight against one teacher!"

Mizuha's head dropped, _Fucking fantastic._

Uraraka, who was taken back like most of her classmates, supported a worried look, "Against.. the teachers?"

Mizuha observed her teachers quietly, thinking rationally about this new information. They were going to fight Pro Heroes for their exams. Obviously, with their level, defeating them would be impossible. There had to be some sort of advantage for the students for it to be fair. She was pretty sure the school was so cruel to match them up with teachers with absolutely no chance of winning. They had to give the students a handicap! It was only fair!

"In addition," spoke up Aizawa, "The pairs and who they will be up against have already been decided. These were determined at my discretion based on various factors, including fighting styles, grades, and interpersonal relationships, so here they are."

"First! Yaoyorozu and Todoroki are one team, and they're fighting me _."_

Mizuha cringed, _yeah sure and you're wearing that expression to scare them or what?_

"And Midoriya and Bakugo are a team," the two instantly reacted and looked at each other, "and their opponent…"

A couple of students yelped in surprise when the Number One hero landed right in front of his two opponents.

"I will do it!"

"A-All Might?!"

 _... That's bad._

"Work together to beat me, you two!" advised the Symbol of Peace.

"Eleven stages have been prepared," continued Aizawa. "and all teams will begin simultaneously. The test guidelines will be explained by your respective opponents. None of the areas are outside the school grounds, but let's not waste any more time. Get going."

"Now, as for the rest of the teams…" Nezu gained back the students' attention, "The teams will be Kirishima and Sato versus Cementoss, Tokoyami and Asui versus Ectoplasm, Iida and Ojiro versus Power Loader, Aoyama and Uraraka versus Thirteen, Kyouran and Ashido versus myself, Jiro and Koji versus Present Mic, Hyoumei and Kaminari versus Joker, Hagakure and Shoji versus Snipe and finally, Mineta and Sero versus Midnight."

Mizuha's face remained neutral the whole time after she heard her name, who she was with and who she was against.

 _Greeat. I'm stuck with the guy who can barely control his Quirk._

Joker stepped up with his hands in his pockets, "Kaminari, Mizuha. Let's get going." he said gruffly and went off to their designated bus.

Mizuha didn't bother looking back behind her and just followed after her uncle. From Kaminari's point of vue, it literally looked like Mizuha was speed walking away from him and after their math teacher.

The blond boy frowned when he caught up to them, he wasn't exactly sure how to deal with the loner of the class.

Eijin stood next to the door and ushered the two to go inside the bus first. Mizuha casually went in and then and planted herself in a random seat and stared outside the window. Kaminari and sat on the seat facing hers, she didn't even look at him.

The teacher took a seat in the front and told the driver they could leave now. Once the bus started moving, Eijin glanced behind his shoulder and stared at the two classmates.

No one was talking.

 _"Next, Hyoumei. She's doing good and she's an all-rounder, but her communication needs a lot of work. From what we have so far, she either remains passive in group works or chooses to work alone if Kyouran isn't an option. She has the mentality of thinking she always has to manage on her own and rely only on herself. Kaminari has poor grades and poor control over his Quirk but he knows how to cooperate."_

 _Aizawa looked up from the two papers and looked at Eijin, who was leaning back against his seat with his arms crossed._

 _"Joker, I'll be leaving these two to you. Not only do you know how to exploit Mizuha's weaknesses but you can also reflect Kaminari's electricity."_

 _Eijin scratched his chin, "... I see."_

 _"No objections!"_

Eijin turned back around in his seat and faced the huge window of the bus.

Self-reliance. It was a good thing but a bad thing. It was a habit she developed when she was growing up and during her five year isolation. She was too used to being alone and dealing with her troubles on her own when Byakuren wasn't there. It probably didn't help that adults often tell children that the only person they can depend on is themselves and therefore should always try to manage on their own. It grew into a bad habit for Mizuha and probably even worsened when she pushed everyone away.

Self-reliance can be good but it can also be bad due to the fact that it prevents the person from trying to even communicate.

 _Well, let's see how this goes._

* * *

 **Oof, I had so much trouble writing this chapter and I have no idea why. I had like three different versions and this one came out as the best one?**

 **While Mizuha is self-reliant she is also the type to dislike things that hold her back when she does her best. In no way does she hate Kaminari, she hates the disadvantage she thinks he can cause.**


	6. Chapter 6: Final Exams PT2

**"Team Hyoumei and Kaminari, practical exam. Ready, go!"**

Mizuha tucked the pair of handcuffs in her pants' pockets and started running. Shocked by her sudden take off, Kaminari stood there for a moment before running after her. The girl was completely silent as she kept her pace, hearing nothing but her steps and Kaminari's.

 _I have to figure out how to do this with the time that was given to me._

 _Uncle isn't going to hold back on exploiting weaknesses against me and he'll easily counter Kaminari's Quirk._

 _What the hell are my options here?_

"H-Hyoumei… what are we going to do?" Kaminari broke the silence awkwardly, "Do we run or do we fight?"

Mizuha's face twitched, "I'm trying to figure that out."

The blond boy frowned next to her, "Well, what is Joker's Quirk anyway?" he asked, "I don't think I remember exactly what it is…"

When she didn't answer him, he looked down at the pavement and scowled.

 _With Eijin's Quirk, anything within his radius will only reflect back at us. I wouldn't need to dodge it but it's difficult for someone like Kaminari to dodge from a sudden attack. Especially since he just admitted he doesn't know Uncle Eijin's Quirk. What a pain… Great, so does this mean I have to do all the work in this team? What on earth were the teachers thinking when they decided to pair me up with someone like Kaminari!_

"Hyoumei! Can we talk about what we're going to do together?!" Kaminari freaked, anxious about the exam and that so far, they had no plan.

Mizuha stopped in her tracks and frowned, "Calm down and let me think! If you start panicking then you'll just make things worse! So just wait until I can figure out a plan!" she snapped.

Kaminari shut up and stared at her dumbfounded, "What, so you mean I can't help? What do you— AHH!" he freaked and pointed behind her while he started running away, "Behind you!"

The platinum haired girl instantly realized what was happening, and she turned around, preparing to face her uncle.

 _Fuck the plan! We have nothing!_

 _I have to do all the work!_

"Get going! Find the gate!" Mizuha ordered.

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Kaminari ran off.

Mizuha blocked the leg coming down on her with her arms. Her uncle merely forced his leg down on her with more pressure and stared down at her. The teen gritted her teeth and shoved his leg back with all her might. She couldn't use her Quirk. Her only option was to rely on her physical strength, she just didn't know how long she'd last against him. Eijin easily maneuvered around her, making her use her Quirk as a habit of self-defense. A wave of water rushed towards Eijin, only to come right back at her and push her away, making her stumble from the pressure.

 _Damn it!_

Eijin used her temporary loss of balance to his advantage, grabbing the back of her jacket and turning her around in front of him. She barely had the time to register what he was doing. All she saw was his right hand and he palmed her abdomen.

Mizuha gasped for breath and the pain spread through her body. She couldn't move, all she could do is fall down to her knees. Eijin watched her drop and fall on her front in front of his feet.

 _It hurts… I can barely breathe…_

"I aimed for the solar plexus, but don't worry, you'll be fine in few minutes." He said before crouching down in front of her.

She gritted her teeth and tried moving her hands.

"You're already making this difficult for yourself, Mizuha." He said after gently patting her head with pity.

"Wh-What…?"

Eijin sighed, dropping his head down and placing his hands on his knees before pushing himself back up.

"I don't know if you've realized it but you're still pushing away others around you. I get that you want to do your best… everyone is doing their best. I understand that you want to be able to do things yourself… but that is not helping you right now, is it?"

Mizuha listened to her uncle silently while trying to regain her strength and breath as soon as possible.

"You're too self-reliant." stated flatly her uncle, "I don't know if your shyness is making it worse but your five-year isolation pretty much made you used to the idea that you shouldn't bother anyone and just do it yourself. You feel like only you can do things by yourself and get the result you want. There's nothing wrong in trying to be independent but in reality, no one can _ **always**_ depend on themselves. You need others to help you. And you just screwed up by not letting your partner help you for this test."

Without another word, Eijin ran after Kaminari.

Mizuha's fingers that were touching the pavement twitched. She was struggling to move again while thinking about what her uncle said.

It was leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

* * *

"Oi, Kaminari! You seriously going to ditch your partner?"

Kaminari yelped out of surprise when he noticed his teacher running right behind him. And as if he was mocking him, he kept the distance between them constant and didn't bother shortening it.

"Seriously?! Hyoumei got taken down? Aw man!"

Eijin watched Kaminari panic ahead of him, adding speed to his run.

 _What will you choose do to?_

 _Will you use your Quirk and suffer the consequences?_

 _Will you ignore my words?_

 _What will you two do?_

* * *

Mizuha never thought that self-reliance was a bad thing… she always thought it was seen as a positive thing. If she knew she could achieve what she wanted by relying on herself, then why shouldn't she? She was sure she could do the same for this exam if only she had enough time to think. Kaminari couldn't even think about a plan… he just thought of running away. Sure, it was permitted but surely there was a better way to pass this exam?

… She was better than him… he had to be wrong.

The more she thought about it, and the more she tried finding another argument she realized her uncle's words were slowly making sense to her stubborn mind.

… She might be better than him… but was he wrong?

Even if his plan wasn't good, she should have at least tried to hear him out.

But she didn't.

She tried doing everything by herself.

 _"You need others to help you. And you just screwed up by not letting your partner help you for this test."_

… She might be better than him… but she should listen if he had something to say.

Always thinking she could do so much better on her own was not always the right thing.

Mizuha got back up on her feet, swaying a little after she stumbled.

 _"Why didn't you ask any of us for help?" He frowned._

 _Mizuha glanced at him. "What?"_

 _"If you can't do it by yourself then maybe you need someone to help you."_

 _"No it's too late for that and I don't want to bother anyone with my problems." She shook her head and straightened up. "Especially Byakuren. I rely too much on him."_

 _"Come on, there's nothing wrong in needing help! In fact, asking for help can be pretty manly!" He grinned._

 _…_

 _"I'VE BEEN TRYING TO HELP YOU ALL THIS TIME!"_

 _Mizuha laughed darkly, "Ha! And you've just been wasting your goddamn time haven't you? Poor you."_

…

She breathed in.

This whole time, she became so used to self-reliance that she just made everything harder for her.

She didn't have to do everything alone.

There was… nothing wrong with dependence.

"I can't keep doing this! I can't…!" she clenched her fists.

She jumped up and created an ice platform before forming a wave of water. She rose up higher and stared down at the urban city stage, searching for Kaminari. It didn't take her too long, she had to follow his screaming and shouting.

She found him, looking a little battered, probably from fighting her uncle.

And right now, he looked like he was about to unleash his Quirk.

" _ **Kaminari** **!**_ Don't do it!" she yelled.

Kaminari, who paused with his arms in the air, looked at Mizuha. She was rushing towards him on top of a wave of water. Eijin's eyes followed his niece, who easily wrapped her arms around Kaminari's midsection and pulled him away somewhere at full speed, away from his sight.

A small smile curled on his lips.

 _So, you decided to heed my words?_

They both crashed.

Kaminari wheezed beneath Mizuha, "C-Can you get off please?" he groaned. The impact of the fall with the addition of her weight just knocked out all the air out of him.

Mizuha cringed, "S-Sorry…" she quickly apologized before moving off him, then she looked around their surroundings. It seemed like they were definitely alone for now.

That was good.

The blone boy got on his knees and dusted off his clothes. He looked at Mizuha, who was staring at him like she had something to say to him. He frowned and asked her why she suddenly appeared and stopped him from attacking their teacher.

"You could have just gone and find the exit… Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you coming for me."

Mizuha shook her head, "No, that won't work. I won't pass this exam if I went by myself."

"Eh?"

"I think… this exam was purposely designed to pit us against teachers who would have an advantage over us. Your weakness is your lack of control over your Quirk while my weakness is that I rely too much on myself… my uncle easily has an advantage over both of us. He can easily reflect your Quirk and throw it back at you twice as strong while he do the same and beat me at hand to hand combat since he taught me how. If I were to go and pass the exam without you, I'd probably still fail…"

Kaminari blinked, taking a few seconds to let the new information sink in.

"Haaah?!" he exclaimed, "Wait what?! What kind of messed up test is that?! And Joker is your uncle? Wait, how are we going to pass this exam then?!" Kaminari stressed.

Mizuha held her hands between both of them and motioned him to calm down.

"Calm down. Panicking won't help our situation." She warned, then she remembered she said something similar at the beginning of their test, "Err... I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier." she apologized.

Kaminari sighed, "You were looking down on me, weren't you?"

The blond boy didn't appreciate people looking down on him or his classmates. Bakugo was a different case since his personality made it understandable but Mizuha... he could never tell what she was thinking.

Mizuha gulped and dropped her head in shame, "I didn't mean to... I was trying to do everything by myself without even bothering to consider if you actually had something good to say. I thought I could do this alone, but I can't." she looked up and held her hands in front of her in a praying manner, "I need your help. We need to work together to pass this. Please."

The blond boy gaped at her for a few seconds. Somehow, he was able to understand a bit where she was coming from. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't hard to try and make sense of it since it was always obvious. She was always alone doing her own thing, doing things by herself. And if she was always alone, then of course she'd deal with things on her own.

Looking down on people wasn't voluntarily.

Then, a grin crawled up on his face, he leaned closer.

"Alright, so what should we do?" he asked, "First, what is your uncle's Quirk exactly?"

Mizuha lowered her hands and nodded, thankful for him not cussing her out or something like that.

"Mirror. He can reflect anything things around him and double the strength when its sent back. It's almost like a passive Quirk. It will only work on Quirks like ours, emitter types. If you're within my uncle's Quirk radius, then you'll most likely get hit by your own Quirk. That's why I stopped you, if you were to release a certain amount of electricity, then you'd probably go over what you can handle and turn into an idiot."

She always warned him about how his own martial arts was not something to take lightly, admitting she got taken down before she could even do anything when they got separated.

Kaminari sweat dropped, "So… I guess our only option is run make a run for it. But Joker is just going to come at us from behind and attack us before we can even make it! And it's," he pulled out his phone to check the time, "We only have sixteen minutes left." He cringed.

They didn't have a plan and hearing about Joker's capabilities as a Hero was not helping the situation.

Mizuha grabbed his shoulders and held them tightly, "Don't worry! We'll think of something and pass!"

"But is there any weakness to his Quirk?"

The girl let him go and nodded, "Yeah, he has one restriction and one weakness! Like a mirror, it'll break if you hit it too hard. There's only so much he can reflect before he takes an interval to recover. As for the restriction, he can't reflect unless the attack is within his radius and aimed towards him."

"But then that still leaves us with him attacking us physically!" he reminded, "And I'm not really a fan of getting beaten up…"

 _That's true. How the hell are we going to make it out of here safely if he's on our backs?_

Mizuha placed a hand underneath her chin.

She couldn't use gas. So far, she was only capable of using it as a smokescreen… and Eijin probably already knew where the exit was and could easily find a shortcut and cut them off somewhere.

She couldn't use liquid and solid out of fear of risking an accidentally reflection.

"Kaminari, what can you do with your Electrification so far?" she suddenly asked.

"Huh? Well, I can cover my body in electricity but if I try to shoot it all out it'll go everywhere."

Mizuha narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, "Covering your body in electricity… and shooting it out makes it go everywhere…"

* * *

"Ready?"

"I'm not so sure about this! What if I get you with my electricity?"

"Kaminari, trust me. That won't happen. And even if it did, I wouldn't hold it against you."

…

…

…

"Let's go!"

Mizuha and Kaminari turned around a corner and made a dash towards the escape gate. Earlier, after figuring out a plan, Mizuha went on top of the buildings to do some recon to try and locate the gate while making sure she kept out of Eijin's sight. It was odd, she couldn't find him anywhere though.

They both ran side by side as they raced to the gate. There was only ten minutes until their test was over, they couldn't afford to waste anymore time.

As they expected, their teacher found them in no time. He was running after them, getting closer with each second.

Mizuha looked at Kaminari, "Now!"

He nodded.

She created a type of water dome above them, shielding them from Eijin. A part of the water dome stretched out and wrapped itself around Kaminari's wrist, connecting him to the water. Then, the blond boy enveloped his body in electricity, spreading it throughout the water dome. This made Eijin stop in his tracks just before he could pass his hand through the water.

Kaminari glanced behind his shoulder and a confident smiled stretched on his face. It was just as they planned. Eijin couldn't reach them.

"This is working!"

Eijin's Quirk was like a passive one. His mirror could only reflect attacks that were directed against him. It was not an attack type Quirk, and to make up for that weakness, he developed his own martial arts to directly attack his opponents. But with the strategy they came up with, they found another weakness. He couldn't touch them unless he wanted to get electrocuted.

Their Quirk acted as a barrier, not an attack.

With Mizuha depending on Kaminari, the type of person she thought would only hinder her efforts, she was able to bring something good out of him. Kaminari was gaining a bit more control over his Quirk as they ran, keeping it constant enough so that he wouldn't accidentally electrocute Mizuha. With Kaminari showing her how depending on others made the task easier, she was able to understand better. Self-reliance was not always the right answer to come up with. It was time she finally started thinking outside of the box.

Eijin stood in his spot, watching them run off to the gate.

 _This is the result you hoped for, right Aizawa?_

 _A top student and a poor student._

 _Both of them bringing out something good out of the other._

From the field medic station, Recovery Girl smiled. On one of the many screens, she saw Kaminari and Mizuha passing the escape gate, both panting and stopping their Quirks. She leaned forward and pressed the button of the microphone.

 **"Hyoumei and Kaminari have passed the exam!"**

"We passed! We did it!" cheered the blond boy, throwing his arms in the air, "Aw man, I don't think I could have done it without you, Hyoumei!" he turned to her.

Hearing the confirmation of their success, Mizuha fell on her knees out of relief and allowed herself to fall forward onto the pavement. Fearing she might be hurt or something, Kaminari went over to her and asked if she was alright, only to receive a thumbs up from her as her reply. Then, she dropped her hand on the ground and slowly pushed herself up on her knees and then back up on her feet.

"The same goes for me. I couldn't have done it without you." she smiled at him.

Kaminari grinned and held up his hand up, "High five!"

At first, Mizuha simply stared at his awaiting hand. The gesture was so foreign to her, especially since it was coming from someone else that she barely spoke to. But then, a lopsided grin appeared on her lips, encouraging her to raise her hand too, hitting it against the taller boy.

"Yay!"

* * *

The exams were finally over. No one was really injured from their fights except for Midoriya and Bakugo, which was understandable considering who their opponent was. They fought well against the Number One Hero and both passed. After their exam, they were both brought to Recovery Girl for treatment. Some managed to grow during their thirty minutes while others remained the same, unable to go past their own limits.

The next morning, four students stood together in shame.

"E-Everyone… I'm looking forward… to hearing your stories…about training camp…" cried Ashido.

"W-we don't know for sure yet! There might be a last minute twist!" Midoriya said, hoping to brighten up their mood.

Mizuha, who was standing with Sero and Midoriya, stared at the tall white haired boy who did nothing but stare blankly at her.

He glared at her, "What?" he growled.

She snickered, "Nothing."

In truth, it was actually amusing that he failed. It seemed like he finally met his match when he and Ashido were up against the Principal. The little creature's Quirk was one of high intelligence that outsmarted Byakuren's strategic mind. One of the reasons as to why Byakuren was pitted against the Principal was probably due to the fact that he couldn't come up with strategies under situations that throw him off balance. From what she heard, the Principal went crazy and started knocking down and destroying a bunch of things in their stage, distracting and stressing Byakuren.

"Stop it, Midoriya," Sero placed a hand on the green haired boy's shoulder, "If you say it out loud, it'll probably jinx it."

Byakuren dropped his head and stared at the floor with the same blank face but this time his eyes were wide open.

"We failed the exams. We'll be stuck in school while you guys have fun at the training camp. This is the worst scenario… even for me."

"Oof." Mizuha shoved her hands in her pockets.

"I might be in the same boat anyway. I got put to sleep and only cleared the test thanks to Mineta."

Kaminari appeared and gave them a thumbs up, "Don't worry! I'll bring you guys lots of stuff from our training camp!" the blonde smiled.

Byakuren's head shot up, he stared at him darkly, "Piss off and die."

"Ehhh?!"

Their homeroom teacher slid the door open, alerting all the students in the room. Everyone quickly made their way back to their seats at the sight of him.

"Morning," he greeted, as enthusiastic as ever, "Unfortunately, there are those who did not pass the final exams. Accordingly, for the training camp in the woods… everyone's going!"

Mizuha looked over her shoulder.

The four students who failed all looked relieved.

"We can go too!?" exclaimed Kirishima.

Ashido, who had tears in her eyes, asked the same question.

"Some failed, but no one failed the written exam. In the practical, Kirishima, Ashido, Kyouran, Sato, and Sero failed. For this time's exams, we on the Villain side made sure to leave a way for the students to win while watching to see how you all would take on the task at hand. If we hadn't, most of you would've gotten stuck before you started."

"So when you said you were really out to crush us…"

"That was to make you feel cornered." finished Aizawa, "In the first place, the training camp in the woods is one to increase strength. So, those who failed need it the most. They have to get stronger. It was a rational falsehood!"

 _We were given a way to win? Now that I think about it… that's true. Eijin has years of experience as a Pro Hero, so there's no way that we wouldn't have thought about the strategy Kaminari and I came up with. He usually has some type of weapon to help him in case of that scenario… I see._

At the end of the day, they all received a training camp guide book to consult in order to know what they should bring for their week of training. As Mizuha lazily flipped through the pages of the guide book, she wondered if her brother also had a training camp during his time and U.A, and if so she could probably ask if he had anything that was worth borrowing... unless he threw it out.

 _Maybe if I look around the house... I wouldn't need to go out and buy stuff? Or I can just make do without them?_

With that, she shut the book closed and started packing up her things.

"Oh, I know! Since we have the day off tomorrow and we just finished our exams, why doesn't Class A all go shopping together?" she overheard Hagakure propose in the back of the class.

That's a great idea! Wouldn't that be the first time we all hung out together?" exclaimed Kaminari.

"Hey, Bakugo, You're coming, too!"

Like I'd do something so irritating."

 _A shopping trip with the class?_

Mizuha slung her back on her shoulder and practically shuffled her feet as she made her way towards Byakuren. She stood next to his desk as he packed up his stuff.

"Are you going?" she asked.

"Huh?" he looked at her, startled, "Hmm... I don't think so? I think I'll just borrow some of this stuff from a friend. They have most the stuff I need here."

"Oh..."

"You?"

"I-I don't know...?" she shrugged.

Byakuren tilted his head to the side, "Do you have everything you need?"

"I don't know?" she repeated.

"Hyoumei!"

It was Kirishima.

"Yeah?" she turned around and answered.

"Are you coming along?" he asked, excitedly. It seemed like he was really pumped for tomorrow's class shopping trip.

She knew she was trying to be more open with others, but old habits die hard. So she replied with an ambiguous answer, earning a pout from the redhead and a sigh from her childhood friend.

Kirishima held her arm and shook it, "Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Err..."

Byakuren placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it as a way to encourage her, "Go tomorrow. Just because I'm not going doesn't mean you have to do the same."

Mizuha looked at his hand for a moment before turning her eyes towards the redhead who was nodding his head, agreeing with the other boy.

She seriously needed to stop leeching off of Byakuren.

With a sigh, she pulled out her phone and tapped her screen with her thumb a few times. When she opened her contacts, she stepped next to Kirishima and held her phone out to him.

Confused, Kirishima slowly took her phone, "What's this?"

She shoved a hand in her pocket and rubbed the back of her neck with her free one, "I'll shoot you a text or I'll call to let you know if I'm actually going, sounds good?"

She wasn't lying.

She was going to think about it.

She wanted to.

Hearing this, Kirishima quickly pulled out his own phone and copied her actions. Then he handed her his own phone, "At least there's hope!" he grinned.

 _Kirishima_ (•‿•)

 _She had a feeling she was going to say yes anyway._

* * *

 **At first, I was thinking of making Mizuha fail the practical exam with Kaminari... but I changed my mind since it wouldn't go well with the plot I have planned.**

 **Just a heads up! I will be using the movie to help Mizuha's character! The movie takes place just before the Training Camp Arc so I'll be working on the movie in the next few chapters.**

 **Beware! T** **here are spoilers for the movie coming soon!**


	7. Chapter 7: Be Yourself

**I'm sure those who have been reading since BOOK I have noticed that I try to post a new chapter every week, and I still do. I'm saying this now because it looks like it's been three weeks (oops).**

 ***raises hands in surrender* I bought** **Kingdom Hearts 3... and I just got sucked in until I finished the game.**

 **Anyway!** **Here's the new chapter of Celsius Hero! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Onyx eyes were glued to the small screen.

 _Mizuha: I'll go tomorrow._

 _Kirishima: Yay!_

 _Kirishima: alright_

 _Kirishima: I'll pass by tomorrow to come get you!_

 ** _HUH?_**

Mizuha had no idea how things ended up the way they did. With a sigh, she let her phone slip through her fingers and leaned back to drop herself back on her bed. The white ceiling above was all she stared at while she tried to calm down the little nerves. She was a little nervous about going out somewhere without Byakuren. She was aware that her classmates were not strangers. They've all been seeing each other for months now but she chose to create a distance… her own discomfort was her fault and she understood that.

She was just thankful that Byakuren was no longer the one holding onto her hand to prevent her from running away. Kirishima was there, and... Todoroki too?

Todoroki walked by her side while Kirishima pushed her forward.

 _So difficult…_

 _Mizuha: okay_

Maybe it was better that he decided to come and get her… there was a high chance she could cancel or just go back home half way there after worrying too much.

The girl rolled onto her side and swung her legs off the edge of her bed. She forced herself to sit upright and plant the soles of her feet on her cold floor. She could feel the cold seeping through her socks. The heat was one of the things she absolutely hated. As someone who always went below zero degrees for her Quirk, heat probably didn't go well with her by nature. Her room was always the coldest place in the house when summer came. She already got numerous complaints by her mother and Shiran about it. They both complained about her getting sick since she always left her door closed when she turned on the AC. Her mother was able to convince her to at least open her door to let the cool air circulate around the house.

She walked out her open door and searched for her mother around the house. While grabbing a fortune cookie that came with the takeout from a few days ago, she found her mom in the living room watching the news.

She sat down next to her, "What's up, momma?"

Mizuki shook her head, "Nothing."

Mizuha opened the wrapper trapping her snack, "Mom, I'm gonna go out tomorrow to buy some things for the Training Camp." said Mizuha before popping a piece into her mouth.

Her mom looked at her, "What do you need?"

Mizuha broke the cookie in her mouth, "I need like three things. Soo I'm going to need money to buy." she managed to say.

"Okay, I'll give you the money later." she said, "You're going with Byakuren?"

"Err... no. He said he'll just borrow some things from a friend."

"You're going alone?"

"No, I'm going with... my class? My classmates wanted to go together as a shopping trip..."

Her mom smiled, "That's good."

"... and a classmate is apparently coming tomorrow to pick me up."

"Oh? Who?"

"Obviously, you don't know him, but he's someone who helped me with my issues."

This was enough to convince Mizuki that this classmate was a nice person. Now she was just curious about how he looked like.

Mizuha pouted and brought her feet up on the couch, "I already said I was going but... what if no one wants me there?"

Mizuki sighed, _Here we go._

She couldn't help but think like this. Maybe if Todoroki came along then she'd be able to calm down a little, but he wasn't since he was visiting his mother.

"A class trip with classmates is with people you're friends with... but I'm just... I'm not close to anyone, it's going to be awkward and maybe I'm not even wanted."

"Well, if it turns out that way—"

"—I'll go home."

"No. Just stay with the person who invited you to come. I'm sure they won't come all the way here and think you're not welcomed."

She had a point.

"Okay..." she mumbled.

* * *

The next morning, Mizuha sat in her couch nervously, playing with her fingers and staring at the television blankly. Whatever was playing on the screen didn't even register into her mind. Her brother sat on the single couch and stared at her, observing her anxious behaviour.

"Relax." he said flatly.

"Shut up." she said sharply without looking away from the screen.

Shiran raised his hands up in surrender.

When there was a knock on the door, she shot up from her seat, "I forgot something." she said before running quietly to her room while sliding in her socks, leaving her brother flabbergasted.

Shiran rolled her eyes, "What a nervous little wreck..." he mumbled as he pushed himself up from his seat.

When the older boy walked to the door, he peeped into the little hole and checked out who was behind their front door. There was a redheaded boy, and he was staring at something on the wall... the same spot where the Hyoumei family their key. This made Shiran unlock the door and open it, surprising Kirishima.

Upon recognizing Mizuha's older brother, he bowed and greeted him, "I'm Hyoumei's classmate. My name is Kirishima Eijirou." he introduced himself with a friendly smile.

Shiran tilted his head, staring down at the boy.

Mizuha did tell them that two of her classmates came into their home because of the bad weather. She also mentioned how Byakuren was the one who came in with the spare key. Her two classmates probably saw him pull it out of its hidden place. Why else would Kirishima be staring at the spot so curiously. It was so well hidden. With the help of the recorded event on TV, Mizuha was able to show them how they looked like and even added that one of them was someone who helped her.

Now that he got a good look at him in person, he could clearly see that friendly aura.

He smiled.

"Hey, Kirishima. I'm Shiran. My sister is…" he scratched his cheek with his finger, "she's just getting something in her room, she'll be out in a sec."

He actually didn't know what the heck she was doing.

Kirishima shook his head, "Oh, it's no problem."

Shiran gave him a close eyed smile and leaned against the door on his right with his hands in his pockets, "I heard you were the one she spoke to when she broke down 'like a baby'."

"She told you?"

She nodded, "Yup, and I think I speak for everyone in this family and Byakuren when I say that I'm thankful that you were there for her. If you weren't then I think she'd still be closed off and probably attending another school or something."

The redhead smiled, "I'm glad I was able to help." he said, "She's a nice girl."

Shiran cringed, "She can be really mean… she threw her bag at me."

"That's just part of who she is!"

The older boy sighed, "Man, sometimes I wish that she'd go back to the sweet little Mizuha..." he muttered to himself.

Kirishima saw Mizuha walking towards the door. She was wearing a long black and gray striped cardigan that ended below her rear on top of a blue shirt with a design on it. She wore black stretchy jeans and her usual blue shoes. She also had her usual school bag too.

The boy grinned at her, "Ready to go?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

Just then her mom appeared behind the two Hyoumei children, "Try not to let her run away and do something alone or something."

Mizuha slumped her body and sighed, "Way to expose my emergency plan."

"Don't worry ma'am! She won't be alone!"

 _You'd think she was arranging some type of babysitter._

* * *

"Your mom is nice."

"Byakuren likes to call her 'chill'."

"Is she?"

Mizuha tilted up her head towards the sky as she thought about, "... I guess?"

Kirishima glanced at her, then looked at the long sleeved cardigan she was wearing. He found it odd that she was wearing this type of dark clothing in such hot weather.

"Aren't you a little hot?" he asked while pointing at her sleeves.

Mizuha frowned and looked down at her arms. She wasn't going to admit it, it did feel warm... but it wasn't really bothering her right now. In fact, she was always used to wearing long sleeves. Her reason for wearing it was also because of the new discovery about her body. The redness that appeared on her skin when she felt nervous and anxious.

The girl shrugged and shook her head, "Nah, I'm fine."

"Well, I guess if you do start feeling hot... then you could just cool yourself off with your Quirk."

"Yeah."

She did during her internship when her skin felt hot.

"You're lucky. You could such a cool Quirk compared to mines..." he finished with a small pout.

 _Wait what?_

They both swiped their transit passes and went through the small gate. When they were side by side again, she turned to face him with confused expression, "Why are you talking like yours is not good?"

"No, don't get me wrong. My Hardening Quirk is good for fighting," Kirishima shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "It's just that it's not as flashy so it seems boring?"

Mizuha chuckled and looked in front of her, "I'm getting the urge to smack you right now." she shook her head.

"Wh-What?"

"Just because it's not 'flashy' doesn't mean anything. If you're worried about your Quirk not being good enough for Hero work... then you're just being silly. In my opinion, your Quirk is pretty awesome. The society has a lot of people who act as shields and spears... you give me the impression that you can be both. Physical attacks like blades can have no effect on you and you can also attack with your own body." she looked at her hands, "If I try to be like a 'shield' with my ice... then I'd probably get frostbite or something." she laughed, "But anyway, that's just my silly opinion. What I'm trying to say is... be more fair to yourself because you have a cool Quirk, Kirishima."

She grinned at him.

He blinked, then a small smile appeared, "Thanks."

"By the way, have you heard about the exposition in uhh... what was it called... err... something-island...?"

"I-Island?"

Mizuha nodded, "Yeah! That's the name. There's a bunch of advertisements on the internet about the exposition going on there."

"Yeah! It's super cool! I'm actually planning on going before the training camp!"

"All by yourself?" she asked, surprised.

"Nah. Bakugo got an invitation to go so I figured I could tag along!"

"Why did he get invited?"

"Because he won the U.A Sports Festival."

"Ah, that make sense."

* * *

When Kirishima and Mizuha met up with their class in front of the mall, it seemed like they were the last ones arriving. As if he was a magnet, she sort of stuck by his side and did her best to play it cool since she was still a little nervous from being out without her usual sturdy support pillar A.K.A Byakuren. After greeting everyone, they all entered the mall together.

"Here we are~! With the most stores in the prefecture, the newest and coolest, most advanced… Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall!" Ashido exclaimed with a fist up in the air.

Mizuha kept her pace next to Kirishima as she silent observed the things around her. Ashido was right, there were a lot of new things that were related to the latest trendy things... which really didn't matter to Mizuha at all. She wasn't exactly the shopping fanatic. Any type of shopping was usually done with her mother and she only bought things that would catch her eye (which was at least three or four things in a clothing store) or what her mother thought was necessary.

Now that she thought about it... she never really had any type of shopping trip with a friend. Whenever she and Byakuren went to the mall, it was either to watch a movie or to eat something at the food court.

 _Wait is that..._

Mizuha took a step forward.

 _They're selling iced cappuccinos over there...!_

"Oh, aren't those U.A. students!?"

She stopped when she heard someone say that and started looking around for where it came from.

"First years?"

"I saw them on TV!"

"Sports Festival, yay!"

"Oh, there are still people who remember that..." Uraraka said, a little embarrassed but yet pleased by the attention.

Out of habit, the girl looked away from the attention and pulled out her phone from her pocket. Now would be a good time to check out what she needed to buy for the training camp anyway. She opened up her notes and read the little digital list she prepared. Kirishima noticed this and peered over her shoulder curiously. Mizuha briefly shifted her eyes to the side when she sensed him before looking back at her phone, he wasn't bothering her.

"So? What's first on your list?" asked Kirishima.

Mizuha shut off her phone and shoved it back in her pocket, Kirishima leaned away as she turned to face him, "I need a bag. I don't have any giant duffel bags at home."

"A bag, huh? I already have one so..."

He already had one.

That meant she had to go look for one by herself.

She waved her hand to dismiss any thought he might have about going with her anyway. The last thing she wanted was to drag a person around when they had other things to do... especially if it was someone who didn't know her that well like Byakuren.

 _But, isn't Kirishima already aware of who I am?_

"Err, it's fine. I'll just go look around and try to find a bag by myself."

 _I should try looking for a map of this place..._

She actually starting turning around to get going, but a firm hand held her shoulder and kept her in place. Her head whipped towards the hand on her and her eyes trailed up until they reached Kirishima's face.

"Anyone here looking for bags?"

"N-No! It's fine really!" she paled.

Kirishima looked at her and grinned, "Your mom said not to leave you alone."

"Oh come on..."

"Yaomomo and I are going to look for bags." Jiro piped up.

Seeing Kirishima's hold Mizuha who looked like she wanted to escape, Yaoyorozu smiled gently at Mizuha, understanding the situation rather quickly.

"Why don't you come with us, Hyoumei? There's no need to be shy."

Jiro nodded, "Come on."

Hearing Yaoyorozu and Jiro say those words made Mizuha relax a little. All it really took for Mizuha to give in and relax was words that reassured her that it was okay to be or do. Kirishima released her shoulder and she was already walking to the two girls.

"Aright." Mizuha nodded.

Yaoyorozu placed her hands on her hips, "Didn't I tell you that you didn't need to shy away from asking for help?"

Mizuha paused. The memory of the day when Yaoyorozu said those words came back to her fast.

 _"Don't be afraid to reach out to others if you need help."_

Mizuha rubbed the back of her neck, "... Sorry."

The redhead grinned, "Okay!" Kirishima called everyone's attention, "Everyone has different things they want to do, so why don't we decide on a time to meet back up?"

"I agree!" cheered Ashido.

"Then let's meet back here at three o'clock!" he decided.

"Okay!"

"Let's start looking for bags." Yaoyorozu said.

Mizuha glanced back at the store selling ice cappuccinos and then back at her leaving classmates. She let out a heavy sigh and followed after them quietly.

"So, Hyoumei, what are you looking forward to during the Training Camp?" Jiro glanced back at her.

Yaoyorozu noticed she was walking behind them and gestured her to walk in between her and Jiro. Mechanically, Mizuha walked in between the two girls.

"Um... I don't know? I thought we were going to train?"

"Nah, I'm pretty sure we're going to have some time to have fun."

"Oh... well I don't know..."

Jiro made a small laugh, "Come on, there must be something you gotta be excited about."

Mizuha couldn't think of anything at the moment. She didn't really give the training camp much thought except about the training.

She shrugged.

Then there was an awkward silence. It didn't last long thanks to Yayorozu once she spotted a map of the mall. Jiro and Mizuha followed after her and checked it out.

Then, she looked down as she stood behind them, hiding her eyes that held embarrassment from her difficulty to communicate. She felt like she should apologize for being unable to talk with ease. Her eyes even started feeling a little teary from the frustration.

 _Do what you always do._

 _Ignore and relax._

 _... yeah that always works._

Mizuha lifted up her head and breathed in deeply, hardening herself.

She pushed back her emotions and looked back up with a neutral blank face.

When they found the store on the map, they went straight for it. Mizuha decided sort of keep her spot in between the two girls. She allowed them to look at each other as they spoke without being in the way while she simply placed her headphones on her head, listening to her music. It wasn't too loud nor was it too low, it was at a volume where she can hear both her music and the voices outside.

Without a word, Mizuha ventured off into the store towards the bag section once they arrived. Yaoyorozu and Jiro both looked at each at the sudden change of attitude. It was like she was back to being distant and alone while just a moment ago she was giving off a more friendly air.

Mizuha fixed her eyes on the shelves that displayed different kinds of duffel bags.

She placed her hand on her cheek and propped it up with her other arm, tapping lightly against her cheek as she thought.

 _I don't wanna carry a bag that's like the one you carry on your shoulder... that's annoying._

She spotted an azure duffel back with a long shoulder strap.

She dropped her arms, "How much is this?!" she mumbled to herself before reaching for the bag and checking it out.

"You decided which bag you wanted to buy?" she heard Jiro ask behind her.

Out of respect, she lowered her headphones and placed them around her neck to give them her full attention.

"I guess. I just need to see how much this is." Mizuha said while looking at what the bag had to offer. It had a lot of pockets.

When Mizuha checked out the price for it, it was a reasonable amount that she could afford.

She picked it up from the shelf and held it in her hands, "Yeah, I'm buying this one."

"That was rather fast..." Yaoyorozu said.

Mizuha turned to face them and shrugged, "Not really," she pulled out her wallet, "Anyway, I'm gonna go pay for this."

Jiro frowned, "Aren't you going to wait so we can pay together?"

Mizuha tilted her head, "... but you're not done."

"Still, we came together so we should finish together too."

"Um... I just thought it'd be faster?"

Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her shoulder, "You don't need to be so quick to leave all the time, relax."

Jiro sighed, "Yeah, it's like you don't even want to be here." she said jokingly with a chuckle.

The girl stayed silent.

Mizuha's mask cracked. Her face twitched slightly.

"I.. um." she raised her hand and used her finger to scratch her temple... that didn't feel itchy at all, "I..uh... sorry."

Yaoyorozu and Jiro observed her sudden loss for words. She rolled her lips together and shifted her eyes to the side.

"Hyoumei?" Jiro called, confused.

Mizuha shook her head, "N-Nothing." she said with a weak grin, "Sorry. I'll wait."

The shorter dark haired girl was sure she didn't imagine it. There was a flash of something in Mizuha's eyes before it disappeared completely, as if it was pushed back before anyone could see its meaning. The platinum blonde haired girl's face became just as relax as it was before and she held the bag in her arms more tightly. It was like nothing was wrong at all.

Yaoyorozu was unsure about what just happened but it looked like she was fine. The two girls both turned around and started checking out the bags on the shelves, occasionally asking for Mizuha's opinion on the duffel bag.

They completely missed the saddened look Mizuha expressed when their backs turned.

Something about how Jiro said that it seemed like she didn't even want to be there made her feel some sort of pang of hurt. When they told her about how she should wait so that they can pay together made her realize she didn't really know much about shopping with friends at all. She didn't have anymore close female friends. It wasn't an intentional hurt, it was a reminding hurt. The hurt where she felt lonely and frustrated of always shying away from social interaction. Building friendships never came with an instruction manual, making things difficult. It was supposed to be natural... but what exactly was natural for Mizuha? It wasn't easy. It wasn't something you could achieve in one day without feeling scared of something.

Scared of rejection? Judgement?

She wasn't sure.

It just wasn't easy.

...

...

Once everything was paid for, they all exited the store together. Mizuha switched her bags, she was able to shove her backpack into the duffel bag so that she can carry the new one. She followed behind the two girls while checking out the remaining items on her list.

"Hyoumei, if you don't mind me asking..." Mizuha looked up from her phone to listen to Yaoyorozu and was surprised when she saw that both girls stopped walking in front of her, making her stop too. "Was everything alright back there?"

"Hm?" she feigned innocent.

"Earlier in the store, it seemed like something was on your mind and it was bothering you." Jiro remarked.

Mizuha didn't say anything for a moment. She didn't want to bother them with her issues. Self-reliance had to be applied here. It just had to.

... or did it?

Mizuha waved her hands in front of her, "It's nothing really. I swear."

Jiro stared at her, searching for any lying signs on her face. Unfortunately for her, Mizuha was good at lying and masking her thoughts.

"Are you sure?" Yaoyorozu's concern was very much appreciated.

"Kyouran doesn't always need to be the one you can talk to, you know? We're all here." Jiro told her.

Mizuha smiled a little at that, "I know... and thank you."

She needed to really try and do this on her own. She wanted to make friends naturally, not because she asked them too. She wanted to feel that lost feeling of knowing that she was friends with someone. The same feeling she had with Byakuren.

 _Just be yourself._

 _Let them see who you are._

 _Try not to think about what they'll think._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

Mizuha sighed exasperatedly, "It's so hot... and I'm thirsty." she whined and slumped forward like a kid, "I can't stand the heaaaat." she drawled.

There it is again, the sudden switch.

The taller girl giggled at the childish behaviour, "We should check if there's a store here that might have what we need."

Mizuha pouted, "But... drinks..." she pointed at the store that was selling ice cappuccinos.

Yaoyorozu reached behind Mizuha and pushed her forward lightly to make her walk, "Training camp comes first." she said, "Come on."

"I could use a drink too." Jiro admitted.

Mizuha looked at the other girl who seemed like she was on her side. Her face brightened—

Jiro grinned, "Later though, after we finish buying our things."

Mizuha sighed.

 _I want an ice cappuccino._

* * *

She never got her ice cappuccino.

Shigaraki Tomura.

The ring leader of the attack during USJ.

He appeared at the mall and confronted Midoriya.

It had probably been twenty five minutes since they all separated before the mall started evacuating everybody. They all joined back up the the meeting place, and the police informed Class 1-A about the confrontation between Shiragaki and Midoriya. Uraraka had been the one to report the incident, causing the temporary close of the mall.

Midoriya was escorted to the police station while the others were told to go home while trying not to walk home alone for too long. Those who were headed for the same direction left together. Mizuha ended up walking with Kaminari, Mineta and Kirishima on the way back and then separating once they had to take different routes.

 ** _Hey! Hey! Kotaete dareka imasenka?_**

Mizuha jumped in fright by her sudden ringtone, she was a little jumpy from the incident at the mall.

 ** _Zutto sagashite mo kotae nai ya_** —

"Hello?"

 _"Are you okay?"_

Mizuha looked around her, "I'm fine, mom."

 _"... That's good."_ she sighed in relief, _"Are you on your way home?"_

"Yeah, I'm like four blocks away from home."

 _"Okay, I'll see you soon."_

"Bye, mom."

 _"Bye."_

She ended the call.

Mizuha frowned.

"Why did he come out...? Why did he talk to Midoriya? And why **_talk_**?"

So many questions were in her mind, but she found no answer for any of them.

* * *

Mizuha kicked up her legs on the table in front of the couch after she dumped herself on the comfy furniture. She was prepared for her gaming session. Her soft boomerang pillow was with her along with her Winnie the pooh blanket. She even brought a cold tall glass of water and a few boxes of milk flavored pocky.

She finally finished buying all the rest of her things for the Training Camp with her mom and they both retired for the day. It was way too hot to go outside anyway.

Mizuha's eyes shined like a child. Her mom just bought her a new game to play while they bought her things, a game she had been waiting to buy for a while now after saving money for two months.

The opening cutscene started playing.

"It's so beautifuuul!" Mizuha gushed, "Kingdom Hearts 3...!" she wiggled around in her seat in excitement.

 _Ding!_

"What is this madness?!" Mizuha screeched, exiting the game and shutting it off since she couldn't pause the opening cutscene. With a scowl, she snatched her phone off the table, nearly knocking over her glass of water.

She calmed down when she saw Todoroki's name.

He sent her a message.

Curiously, she opened her phone and looked at their conversation.

 _Todoroki: Hey, are you busy right now?_

Mizuha scratched the back of her head, she was so tempted to say yes.

With a sigh, she leaned back and held her phone in her hands.

 _Mizuha: No._

 _Mizuha: What's up?_

 _read._

 _..._

Her screen faded black for a brief second.

 ** _Hey! Hey! Kotaete dareka imasenka?_**

Mizuha's eyes widened in shock, staring at Todoroki's contact on her screen above the two buttons that either declined or accepted the call.

Confused, Mizuha picked up the call and placed her phone next to her left ear.

"Hello? Todoroki?"

 **"Hyoumei."**

"... Um, what's going on?"

 _Why did you call me...?_

 _... I have a game to play._

 **"I wanted to ask you something."**

Mizuha made an exaggerated confused expression, "You couldn't ask me through text?"

 **"I thought it would be better to ask you in person... sort of."**

"Um, okay. What is it?"

 **"Are you aware about the exposition on I-Island?"**

"Yeah."

 **"My father got two invitations; one for him and the other was for me. Unfortunately, he has no desire to go to I-Island and decided to just give the invitations to me. So, I'm left with an extra flight ticket."**

"... You're asking me for advice on who to ask or something?"

 **"... No."**

Mizuha tilted her head, "Then, I don't get why you're ca...lling..." her eyes widened and she stopped talking.

No, it was too soon to jump to conclusions. She didn't want to ask him what she really thought out of fear of the embarrassment of seriously thinking that he possibly wanted to give her the ticket.

Her heart was racing at this point. Wait, did she actually want to go? She literally just bought her new game and was planning to suck the life out of it...

 **"Do you want to come with me?"**

Her jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?" she quickly asked.

She was standing on her couch.

He chuckled on the other side of the line, **"I'm serious."**

Mizuha's side of the line fell silent.

Todoroki patiently waited for her to answer, he even started wondering if their call was still ongoing. He even pulled away his phone from his ear to check.

 **"I need to ask my mom. Hold up."**

He heard her place her phone on a surface and the sound her footsteps fading in the background. The heterochromia eyed boy looked at the table, his right hand's index and middle finger were sliding the two plane tickets against the surface back and forth.

Mizuha was actually his first choice when his father gave him the tickets. He couldn't ask his siblings to come since they were both busy with their own things. No one except for Mizuha came to mind. If she refused to come along, then he'd just go by himself. It just seemed like such a waste if no one came along.

The sound of the phone getting picked up from a table caught his attention.

"Hyoumei?"

 **"Todoroki?"**

That wasn't Mizuha...

"... Shiran?"

 **"You wanna take my little sister to I-Island?"** He asked, confusion laced in his tone.

 **"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"** Mizuha's voice yelled in the back, she definitely didn't sound too happy.

 **"I overheard you and mom talking- OW! OUCH! STOP!- ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! HERE!"**

He heard shuffling on the other line.

 _ **THUD!**_

 _... What's happening over there?_

There was more shuffling on the other line.

Mizuha sighed, "Sorry about that." she apologized, sitting on her brother's back.

Todoroki chose to ignore what happened, **"What did your mother say?"**

Mizuha smiled, "She said I could go."

Todoroki smiled, **"Alright."** he picked up one of the tickets and read the departure details, **"Our flight early in the morning after tomorrow."** he informed her before lowering down the ticket back on the table.

"Gotcha." she grinned, feeling a little excited and scared about the trip. She was agreeing to do something that was pretty much out of her comfort zone.

But... if she wanted to be more open, then she'd have to step out of it sooner or later and she thought that this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it. There was no telling how she'd deal with things later on during the trip... but all that matters is that she was trying.

* * *

 **I didn't find any specific dates for when the training camp started and when the movie takes place, all I know is that the movie is before the training camp.**

 **Mizuha's ringtone: Samurai Heart by SPYAIR? (I dunno, I was listening to it and just thought that the chorus was good as a ringtone).**

 **CanadianBlitz: Of course there will be more development between Todoroki and Mizuha (starting next chapter!) I still haven't decided on the official ship. All I know is that I'm definitely not pairing Mizuha with Byakuren (sorry Mizuha and Byakuren shippers!) I'd rather keep them as friends instead of making them a couple. And, thank you for that long review! Those kind of reviews are such a treat for me since they're so rare XD**

 **Speaking of ship, who do you guys think I should ship Mizuha with? Or, who do you ship so far? You don't need to answer if you don't want to, I'm just curious~**

 **Turns out that I won't really be spoiling the movie since it's already out on websites. So, go check it out (if you haven't) if you don't wanna be spoiled!**


	8. Chapter 8: I-Island

Mizuha and Todoroki contacted each other again later that day, with the latter informing her about anything she needed to know. He told her to bring some formal clothing if she wanted to tag along with him to the event that was going to be held there. The moment he said 'formal clothing' and 'party' she started getting a bit depressed and conflicted. If it wasn't obvious enough, Mizuha wasn't the girly type. When she told her mother, she suggested they should at least get her something nice to wear if she planned on going in the end. The day before the flight, they ended up looking for something 'nice' that she could wear. Mizuki tried to convince Mizuha into wearing a dress for once, but her efforts were futile since her daughter was too stubborn with her clothing style. She **_hated_** dresses and skirts. Why else would she ask her uncle to bend the rules to help her wear pants in school?

They ended up buying something that suited her taste.

Fifteen hours before the flight, Mizuha told Todoroki that her family was willing to drive them both to the airport since her place was closer in terms of distance. She gave him her address and the next morning he arrived just a few minutes before his estimated arrival.

Her father was the one who answered the door. Tenran was never one to talk much when Mizuha's friends were in the house. He's practically seen Byakuren grow up with the boy's constant visits, and their usual exchange was a typical greeting whenever Tenran came home from work. When Todoroki identified himself at the front door and asked if Mizuha was home, Tenran simply nodded and pointed towards the living room before walking off somewhere in the house.

Todoroki shut the door behind him and faced the living room, the dark living room. Thanks to the light illuminating the hallway, the light stretched a bit further into the darkness of the living room, slightly revealing Mizuha bobbing her head up and down. Her headphones connected to her phone via Bluetooth had a little blue light blinking every few seconds.

It was early in the morning, giving Mizuha enough reason to keep the lights off and jam to her music.

With an amused smile, Todoroki reached up and flicked on the light switch with his finger, making Mizuha stop all movement and jump in her seat in fright.

Her headphones practically flew off her head.

"GAH!" she cried out, startled.

She gaped at him.

"Good morning." he greeted.

"The heck… I didn't even sense you there…" she muttered.

The dual colored haired boy moved to take a seat to next her on the long couch, placing his suitcase next to it, "Why are you in the dark?"

Mizuha scowled and leaned back, "It's like 3 AM and we're leaving in a few minutes. It doesn't really matter if I turn it on or leave it off."

Todoroki nodded, understanding her logic. Then he reached his hand up to his face and rubbed his left eye with his fingers, indicating he was a little.

Mizuha noticed this and grinned, "Oof, too early for you?"

"Kind of, yes. What about you? Are you tired?"

As if proud of an achievement, she crossed her arms and held her head up, "I live sleep deprived!" she proclaimed, "This is nothing."

Sometimes, she would actually sleep at 3 AM.

He stared at her for a moment.

"That would explain why you look dead during school sometimes."

Mizuha's eye twitched, "No, I don't." she denied.

Not too long after, everyone was ready to go. Apparently, Mizuha's whole family was tagging along since it was a good excuse for Mizuki and Tenran to have some quality time with Shiran. Mizuha and Todoroki sat next to the windows in the backseat while Shiran sat in between them. The parents sat in the front of course. During the ride, Mizuki decided to talk a bit with Todoroki since it was her first time seeing him in person. Just a couple of questions about school and how he met Mizuha in the hospital. Said girl half-listened to their conversation, paying more attention to the passing view outside and the many questions in her mind. She was nervous. She was nervous about how the trip would go. She was nervous about every little detail.

Sensing her nerves, Shiran draped an arm around her shoulders and held her closer to his body. He rubbed a comforting hand on her arm, silently telling her to relax.

 _Just be yourself._

 _Just be yourself._

 _Just be **yourself.**_

When they arrived, they had a lot of time to spare before their flight departure. Their flight was at 6 AM and it was only 4:30 AM. Mizuki decided to buy everyone breakfast from one of the airport restaurants.

…

…

…

"Don't get lost, okay? Stick with each other." Mizuki told them now that they were about to go pass security.

Mizuha nodded, "Mmkay."

Todoroki nodded too.

The older woman looked at the boy and smiled, "It was nice meeting you Todoroki."

"Likewise." He replied, bowing curtly, "Thank you for breakfast Mrs. Hyoumei."

Mizuki waved her hand dismissively, "You're welcome."

Todoroki looked at Mizuha, "Ready to go?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she waddled like a child over to her parents and gave them hugs before walking back to Todoroki's side, walking right past her brother who stood there expectantly. Offended, Shiran grabbed her sweater's hood and yanked her towards him, making her yelp in surprise as he trapped her in a tight hug.

Hidden in his chest was a knowing smirk.

He ruffled her hair and released her, "I get one too." He pouted.

The Hyoumei family watched as Mizuha and Todoroki went off to the security screening.

Mizuki observed the two.

The possibility of Mizuha becoming friends with Endeavor's son never really crossed her mind. It was already amazing enough when she found out that her son was able to work for Endeavor's Hero Agency right after he graduated thanks to a recruitment offer. Now that her daughter also had some sort of indirect connection to Endeavor was a little amusing. Maybe it was fate?

It was just an entertaining thought.

 _This is good._

 _It doesn't always have to be Byakuren._

 _Make more good friends._

* * *

Thirty minutes later, they boarded a plane that was going to bring them to I-Island.

The two ice users sat on the two seats located near a window, with Mizuha sitting closer to the window and Todoroki next to her.

The screens behind the seats in front of them turned on, revealing the estimated time of their landing. Their flight was going to be a direct one. The plane ride was going to last for at least five hours and then take a stop somewhere before finishing its route in four hours.

They were going to arrive in I-Island around 3 PM.

Mizuha pulled down the tray table behind the seat in front of her and placed her laptop on top. Just as she lifted up the screen, she suddenly remembered something important.

She twisted in her seat to face Todoroki, who had already pulled out a book to keep him entertained. He looked up from his book and looked at her curiously, "What is it?"

She gave him a tiny smile, a natural tiny smile, "Thank you for inviting me along."

He blinked.

Had something changed? There was something different about her. She seemed… determined… but for what?

She was radiating a bit of confidence and less of the awkward air she normally had.

"I'm glad you could come along." he smiled back.

* * *

Somewhere after the second departure, Mizuha fell asleep in her seat with her earphones in her ears that were plugged into her laptop. Her headphones that were resting on the tray table were plugged into her laptop thanks to a USB cord, charging its battery. Todoroki was starting to feel a little drowsy himself and noticed how her head was hanging down in a rather uncomfortable manner. Then, with her eyes closed, she shifted in her seat into a more comfortable position while lifting up her head, making her right earphone fall out of her ear.

She looked like she was in a deep sleep, no longer listening to her music consciously.

Todoroki bookmarked his book and placed in on his tray table. He reached for her fallen earphone and placed it on her lap so it wouldn't get caught somewhere in between their chairs. He then reached for her laptop and gently closed the lid, figuring that it would be better to do so to save the battery.

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, falling into his own sleep.

…

…

…

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now approaching I-Island where the local time is 2:50 PM and we have ten minutes until arrival. Please fasten your seat belts, make sure you put away the tray tables and turn off all electronic devices. Thank you."

Mizuha's eyes opened at the sound of the captain speaking.

Todoroki awakened from his sleep too.

Mizuha furrowed her eyebrows. Her view of the chair in front of her seemed... tilted?

She tilted her head upwards.

Feeling a movement brush against his shoulder, Todoroki looked at his side.

They looked at each other.

Mizuha's head had fallen on Todoroki's shoulder as they both slept.

They both blinked.

Embarrassed, Mizuha pulled her head away from his person, "S-Sorry." she apologized while shutting down her laptop.

"It's okay." he rolled his shoulders back, "I don't mind." He said before following the captain's instructions.

* * *

Mizuha followed after Todoroki drowsily. Her awe at the sight of the island past security didn't last long once she started feeling tired on the way to the hotel.

 _Probably wasn't a good idea to add sleep deprivation with jet lag…_

"Keep up, Hyoumei."

"I am!" She drawled.

…

…

…

Her awe was revived when she stared up at the hotel. She knew she was going to stay in a nicer hotel since the hand me down invitation was reserved for a Pro-Hero Family.

But…

"Wow…" Mizuha mumbled.

It looked pretty luxurious.

"Hyoumei." Todoroki called her, he was already ten feet away from her and ready to enter the building. He was waiting for her to stop sight seeing.

With one final glance at the building, she caught up to him.

* * *

It wasn't until Todoroki swiped a keycard for their room that realized that THEY were SHARING a room. Sure, she was comfortable around Todoroki but not at that level where she wouldn't mind sleeping in the same room a few feet away from him. She could with Byakuren but not with Todoroki right now.

He handed gave her a similar keycard, the same one that would give her access to the room.

Mizuha entered the room while looking around like a cat, letting the door close by itself.

 _Okay, this isn't so bad._

Connecting rooms.

 _This room… looks so cooool._

It a was big room, fitting for someone with high status like Endeavor.

"You can have the room with the bathroom." Todoroki said, walking back into the room after a brief check in the other room.

 _Hm?_

"There's only one?"

"Apparently."

"Hm, okay then." Mizuha dropped her things on the ground and took two strides towards the bed, turned on her heel and dropped backwards onto the bed.

Todoroki went off to his own room.

Grooowl~

Mizuha placed a hand on her tummy, drumming her fingers against it.

"Do you want to eat?" he suddenly asked from the other side.

Mizuha sat up, "You heard that?!" she quickly asked.

"Yeah." she could have sworn she heard a soft chuckle.

She dropped backwards in defeat, too tired to feel embarrassed, "Yeah, I'm hungry."

She heard things being placed on a table thanks to their opened door, "We can go and eat dinner now and head to early bed so we can rest up for tomorrow." he suggested.

Hearing his proposal, she sat up and stood up from the bed, "Yeah, good idea."

She grabbed her phone, wallet and her recently acquired keycard and waited for Todoroki to get what he needed.

Once they were both set, they went downstairs together where they were serving dinner.

When they returned to their room an hour later, as suggested, they both decided to go to bed early. Mizuha took a quick shower before heading to bed. They both agreed to leave the door connecting their rooms open just in case Todoroki needed to use the bathroom during the night. It would prevent any annoying door noises that could wake Mizuha.

* * *

Dressed in their hero costumes, they both ventured off to look around I-Island after eating breakfast.

On I-Island, the use of Quirks was not restricted, especially not on the I-Island that studies Quirks. With I-Expo going on, there was a bunch of things that people could do. There were a couple of stadium-like places that held activities for people who wanted to use their Quirks.

 ** _BOOM!_**

Todoroki and Mizuha stopped walking and look at the stadium they just passed by.

 ** _"And the winner is Guest #2!"_**

Mizuha turned to Todoroki and pointed at the entrance, "Hey, can we go see what's going on?"

"Sure," he nodded, "I'm curious about what's going on. We can't see much from here."

They both walked inside the stadium and went up to the audience's seat level to observe the event going on inside. A young man was standing behind two people who were staring up at the little speeding robots that were carrying targets.

 ** _"Ready…. GO!"_**

The two fired off their Quirks and tried hitting the targets under a certain amount of time.

Under a minute, they both finished at different times.

The guy on the left threw his hands up in the air.

" ** _The winner is Guest #1!"_**

The other guy on the right joined up with the one on the left, leaving the stage together so that other people could participate.

 _… I wanna try that._

She actually wanted to try it out with Todoroki since she was a bit curious about who was better at this sort of thing considering how they were both top students in their class.

Mizuha slowly turned towards Todoroki with a sheepish smile, "Heeey… wanna compete?" she pointed down at the stage where the young man was asking for any other participants.

A contest of speed? That would actually be interesting.

Todoroki stepped closer to the rail, raising his hand, "We would like to participate next!"

The adult turned towards him and smiled when he noticed the two classmates. He gestured his hand for them to jump down onto the stage, "Come on down then!"

The boy glanced at her and motioned his head toward the stage before jumping over the rail. A huge grin stretched onto Mizuha's face. She was actually going to go against Todoroki in something. A friendly contest. When the hell would she ever get the chance to do this again?!

Hurriedly, she jumped over the rail and joined him below.

The two approached the older man listened to the rules.

"Rules are simple. You cannot move from your spot on this platform, you have to stay here and hit all the moving targets. Both sides have forty targets, whoever gets rid of all forty first wins. Simple, right?"

Todoroki and Mizuha stood on their designated spots and watched the targets move, waiting for the signal to start.

 ** _"Ready…"_**

Mizuha's fingers twitched in anticipation and small smile curved on her lips.

 ** _"GO!"_**

Both of them shot a wave of ice.

…

…

…

 ** _"Clear time is 20 seconds! The winner is Guest #2!"_**

Mizuha jumped up and cheered, "YES!" she shouted before giggling.

Todoroki lowered his hand and looked at Mizuha with an amused expression. It was very close. He was actually a split second away from finishing before her, it was just that the robot moved away and his ice didn't reach the target.

Compared to Todoroki, she had more options when it came to controlling ice thanks to her water manipulation. She literally made four long icicles and directed them towards the targets in different directions.

Mizuha approached Todoroki with a light bounce in her steps, "I beat you." she said proudly with a giddy grin.

They both started walking off the platform together.

"Are you really _that_ happy about beating me?"

"Hecks yeah!"

Amusement shone in his eyes, "How about we try competing under different conditions?"

Mizuha shook her head rapidly and spluttered out a laugh, "Hell no. You're gonna beat me! I'm keeping the score 1-0!"

"Oh? Now, you're keeping track of scores?"

The girl merely grinned and shoved her hands in her jackets' pockets.

* * *

With an ice cappuccino in her hand, she walked next to Todoroki as they continued checking out the exposition. They happened to pass by a place that was selling her favorite cold drink. She literally had stars in her eyes once she sipped from her white straw.

As they passed by a rocky looking stadium, they saw a flyer that informed them about what was going on inside. It seemed like your typical 'defeat the enemies as fast as you can' thing. It was almost the same as the one they just participated in but this time people were allowed to move around. The boy was curious about how fast he could defeat the enemies and wanted to head inside to participate. Mizuha chose to head up to the stands since she still had her beverage in her hand, she wasn't about to hand it to some random person while she participated nor did she want to throw it away.

She took a seat in the back and watched from one of the three screens that were displaying Todoroki. Her lips closed around her straw just when the lady gave him permission to start. She sipped her drink while watching as he emitted a giant wall of ice that was similar to the one he made against Sero during the Sports Festival. It didn't take too long before he finished.

 ** _"F-Fourteen seconds! He's jumped to the top!"_**

The audience was amazed.

 _Yep, there was no way I was going to compete against him under any other conditions._

Just as she moved her lips away from her straw, she heard a blast go off somewhere around her left. Startled, she snapped her head towards the sound and saw someone fly down to the stage…

Bakugo was flying down.

 _Wait what? Bakugo? Oh right, he's here because he got an invitation... oh snap, that means Kirishima is here too!_

Mizuha's eyes widened.

 _Hey, it's my classmates!_

She didn't know what possessed her to easily get up from her seat and to greet them but before she knew it, she jumped up and jogged over to her classmates who were surprised to see Todoroki. With a lopsided grin, she approached Kirishima from behind and pressed her cold drink at the base of his neck. She saw him shiver with a yelp and he quickly spun around, she stepped back just in case he knocked her drink out of her hands.

When he identified the person behind him, he gasped in surprised.

Mizuha gave him a smirk and took another sip from her drink, she waved at him.

"Hyoumei! You're here, too?!" a big smile stretched on his face, "You didn't tell me you were going to be here!"

Hearing Kirishima's exclamation, the others turned to Mizuha.

"Hyoumei-san!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"I didn't know you were here too." said Yaoyorozu, surprised.

Mizuha held up two fingers, "Todoroki had two invitations. He decided to give me one." she explained.

Just as Iida was about to say something, he glanced back down at the stage where Bakugo was literally yelling at the young woman hosting the activity. Horrified, Iida jumped over the rail, "Everyone, stop! U.A's embarrassing secrets will be exposed to the world!" he shouted before racing towards Bakugo and Todoroki.

Immediately, Midoriya and Kirishima followed after Iida by jumping over the rail.

"R-Right!"

"Y-Yeah!"

Mizuha looked down at the stage, watching as the three boys rushed to Bakugo.

"K-Kacchan, calm down!" Midoriya tried, only the receive a yell from the angry boy, causing the redhead to restrain him from behind. Iida and Midoriya stood in front of Todoroki, attempting the calm down Bakugo.

"Stop this embarrassing display!"

"Shut up! Don't act like the class rep here!"

"Come on, man! Chill!"

"GET OFF ME!"

"Oof." Mizuha chuckled.

Uraraka stepped closer to Mizuha, "So, you came here with Todoroki?"

Mizuha returned her attention to the three girls that were with one she didn't recognize, "Yep." she nodded.

"Uraraka and I were chosen to go with Yaoyorozu," Jiro informed, "but the other girls are here too." she added.

Mizuha mixed her drink with her straw, _I wonder how many of Class 1-A showed up for the exposition…_

The unknown and older looking girl smiled, "I guess you must be a classmate too."

Mizuha looked at the girl and blinked, she scratched her cheek with her finger and nodded.

Introductions were quick. The blonde haired girl's name was Melissa Shield, and she was currently a third year attending the Academy on I-Island. She was the daughter of Professor David Shield. Normally, Mizuha wasn't really one to concern herself with the news or anything like that. But the professor's achievements as a top scientist in Quirk research reached her at some point. She was definitely surprised to be meeting the daughter of such a person.

A few minutes later, they all went off somewhere else in different areas. It was already past 12 o' clock, making Mizuha a little hungry for lunch, her drink didn't do much to keep her hunger at bay. She stuck with Todoroki during the whole thing, not wanting to get lost. She remembered where the hotel was but she just wanted to make sure she didn't get lost. Besides, it was fun. Hanging out with Todoroki was a first and it was different from when she hung out with Byakuren.

They both stopped by a restaurant serving different kind of noodle related meals. While checking out the menu with pretty pictures, Mizuha scanned for the word 'udon' and the picture with narutomaki in it. Udon was her favorite right up there with Pho. Todoroki ordered soba noodles, the cold kind.

They found out each other's favorite food.

* * *

Exhausted, Mizuha dropped on her bed with casual clothes. Instead of her hero costume, she wore a loose light blue sweater on top of a long green t-shirt with grey stretchy pants.

It was currently 4:30 PM.

After she and Todoroki decided to retire in their rooms, Mizuha made a beeline for the bathroom and changed into her regular clothes. She was ready to just get on her phone until she dozed off, she was in great need of recharging herself.

Lazily, she crawled up the bed and slipped underneath the covers, snuggling into the pillow. She pulled up her phone and started watching a random video on the internet.

Not even 10 minutes later, she heard Todoroki open the door between their rooms.

The boy poked his head in his classmates' room with his phone in his hand. When he saw her under the bed cover, he hesitated for a moment. He didn't know whether or not he should wake her up. She did seem tired. Mizuha, who was aware that he opened the door, was curious as to why he left it open. Confused, she glanced over her shoulder and saw him just standing there.

 _Well, that's not creepy at all._

"What?" she asked, then cringed at how her tone sounded unintentionally rude.

He looked down at his phone, reading the message once more before looking up, "It's Iida. He sent me a message saying he wanted us to show up in Lobby 7 with the other so that we can go to the party at the central tower as a group."

The girl somehow felt herself sink further into the bed.

Mizuha squinted her eyes and frowned, "… in formal clothing?"

He nodded.

 _Fuck my life._

Mizuha dropped her head on the pillow.

She was making an effort to socialize but… parties where you had to wear formal clothing wasn't for her. Her formal attire was still in her suitcase but… did she still want to go?

Did she want to risk being under the judging stares of those who comforted to expectations? She was a girl, you would normally picture a girl wearing a beautiful dress to the occasion… but she didn't bring anything of the sort. She was satisfied with her own style, but what about others?

 _You're doing it again._

 _You're thinking about what others will think._

Mizuha sat up on her bed, sat criss-crossed and crossed her arms.

 _If I did wear a dress, then I'd just be showing other people that I'm 'girly'. Hell no._

From where he stood, he saw how conflicted she looked.

"Did you forget to bring formal clothes?" he asked.

Mizuha shook her head.

"Then what's wrong?"

 _Just be yourself._

 _Don't think._

She breathed in, held her breath for a few seconds before releasing it heavily.

 _To hell with what people might think._

 _I am me._

Mizuha shook her head and dropped her head back on the pillow with her legs and arms crossed, "Nothing." she answered, turning her head towards him, "What time?"

"6:30."

She hummed, "Okay," she turned onto her side, "I'll just rest here for a while."

 _Let's hope I don't chicken out..._

Todoroki tilted his head, confused. His gaze lingered on her form for a few more seconds before he decided to leave her be, stepping away from the doorway and closing it to give her some peace. Even he wanted to rest up a little before heading to the party.

As he sat down on the bed, he replied to Iida's text, confirming their attendance at 6:30.

…

…

…

At 5:30, Mizuha got out of bed and started fishing for her 'formal clothes' inside her suitcase. She carefully placed each piece on her bed before closing her suitcase. Once she did, she reached for the first thing she could touch but froze and turned her attention to the door connecting her room with Todoroki's. The idea of changing in her own room seemed a little too risky. Like a weirdo, she silently crept towards the door and placed her ear next to it, listening for any type of movement. After about ten seconds, she heard some shuffling going on the side of door. She leaned away from the door as if she got burned and her eyebrows shot up as she strode back to the bed, she was definitely not changing in her room. Not when Todoroki was up and awake, and could open the door out of no where if he wanted to use the bathroom.

Mizuha grabbed her attire and speed walked into the bathroom, locking herself inside to change in peace.

She dropped her clothes on the sink counter and stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection.

She breathed in.

 _Alright._

She reached for her top.

…

…

…

Mizuha stared at her reflection, liking what she was seeing. She felt comfortable in these clothes, way more comfortable than thinking about how uncomfortable she might be in a dress.

She was dressed in a black blazer with white lines design on her sleeves and the bottom edges of her blazer. She wore her open blazer on top of a slight tight white undershirt. She wore dark gray pants and black leather slip on shoes.

Finally, she clasped the silver necklace around her neck. It was her mother's idea to at least bring some sort of accessory to the event. It was a necklace with a small cross hanging in front.

Now that she took a good look at herself, she looked more dressed for semi-formal event.

She brushed her hair and let her bangs drop in front of her face.

She felt a little bashful at the sight of her reflection, she felt good. She definitely felt comfortable in those clothes, it reflected who she was perfectly. And she was going to stick with that.

 _Mom said that this was fine. So, I shouldn't be worried about anything._

Mizuha quickly folded her clothes somewhat neatly before slipping an arm underneath them. She glanced at herself a few more times in the mirror before walking to the door and unlocking it.

She turned the doorknob and exited the bathroom.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She dropped her clothes on her bed and snatched her phone off the night table and rushed back into the bathroom. She locked it once more before stepping in front of the mirror.

Mizuha never liked getting her picturing taken, thinking she wasn't photogenic compared to others.

 _But that doesn't mean I can't take pictures of myself that **I**_ _approve of._

 _I mean, I look nice! I wanna take a dang picture!_

Mizuha struck a pose.

* * *

 **I hope this chapter pleased Mizuha and Todoroki shippers? (⁰▿⁰) Anyway, this whole chapter was to help Mizuha get a little more comfortable with the idea of her being herself in public... I wonder if Mizuha seems like a complicated character?**

 **The next chapter will wrap up the whole villain situation in the movie but I might or might not have one more chapter left before we finish with... the I-Island Arc (yeah let's just call it that).**

 **Please keep reviewing! I really love reading your comments!** **(｡•́‿•̀｡)**


	9. Chapter 9: Do It With Style

While the elevator moved up, Mizuha was constantly touching her hair. She kept dancing her fingers around the strands of hair that were held up.

Just before she and Todoroki left, she made the decision to at least do something with her hair. She just tied her hair with an elastic and held it up with a claw hair clip while allowing it to somewhat fall back. It was a last minute decision, and since she was so used to keeping her hair down, it took her five minutes to get it right.

 _I think it's better if I don't touch it. I'm sure it's fine._

Mizuha lowered her hand and left her hair alone.

From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Todoroki's attire. He was dressed in contrast to her; white.

That thought alone just amused her.

They were black and white.

Todoroki looked at her when he heard her chuckle softly next to him, wondering what was so funny.

"What's so funny?" he asked, curious.

Mizuha shook her head, "Nothing really." she replied while putting her hands in her blazer's small pockets.

Once the elevator doors opened, they were presented to those who were already waiting inside the lobby. She walked into the lobby next to Todoroki who was dressed in contrast to her. She saw Iida, Kaminari and Mineta.

"Hyoumei-kun, Todoroki-kun! Good, you're both on time." Iida praised.

Hearing Iida call a female's name made Kaminari and Mineta whirl around, ceasing their conversation immediately to look. Their excited expressions toned down when they looked at the female from head to toe, obviously disappointed.

The girl left Todoroki's side after Iida started speaking to him and decided to approach Kaminari. From their exam, she felt like a barrier between them disappeared, making it easier for her to talk to him as herself.

Mizuha scoffed, "What were you expecting?" she crossed her arms.

Kaminari scrunched up his nose, "Well…" he tilted his head, "you know…? A dress?"

Mizuha shrugged, "You'll find me dead before you see me in a dress." she stated without hesitation.

The purple haired boy turned away and muttered something about her being like a boy. His mutter didn't go unnoticed by the girl. Mizuha turned her head towards Mineta and her right eye twitched, she didn't feel insulted because he referred to her as a boy. She was irritated that he was solely focusing on a female's looks.

But what did she expect from a little pervert?

Like Byakuren, she put on a close eyed smile, except it didn't look as gentle. She turned her head back to Kaminari and pointed at her blazer.

"You know what's cool about my outfit though? I can take my blazer off and tie it tightly around someone's neck," she placed a hand around her neck to add emphasizes, "and," she released her neck and took off her right slip on shoe, "I can shove my shoe into someone's mouth. Pretty cool, right?"

While keeping her head in Kaminari's direction, her eyes shot open and she stared directly at Mineta who was clearly listening to her by the way he was shaking.

He stepped back with a terrified look.

When she saw his reaction, her 'smile' dropped and she rolled her eyes in annoyance. She felt satisfied. The blond sweat dropped when he realized she was threatening Mineta.

She opened her hand and dropped her shoe on the ground and the sound echoed throughout the lobby. She lifted up her right foot and easily slipped it into her black shoe.

"But y'know…" started Kaminari, catching her attention, "Now that I take a good look at you… it's not so bad. You look hella classy."

Hearing his opinion made her confidence boost. She crossed her arms again and grinned sheepishly, "Well, this is how I am. Plus, this just shows that I don't conform to what society expects out of a female traditionally." she placed a hand on her chest, "I'm me and I'll choose what I want to do."

Iida, who overheard her words, clapped vigorously after raising his head, "Such a thing is very admirable!" he said loudly.

Mizuha cringed, turning her head a little towards him, "You were listening?" she muttered.

She thanked him either way and then turned back to Kaminari, "So, why are you here on I-Island?"

The blond boy smiled and pointed at himself with his thumb, "Mineta, Kyouran and I got part-time jobs for the exposition. Then we were given invitations to the party—"

"—wait you said Kyouran… Byakuren is here too?"

He nodded.

"Then why isn't he here?" she asked, confused.

"He said he wanted to go rest up for the day since we were pretty busy."

 _And he didn't even bother telling me that he was going to I-Island?_

 _...Then again, I didn't ask him if he was and I didn't tell him I was going too._

* * *

While waiting, she completely isolated herself by playing a game on her phone. She even sat down against a wall to play. There were only a few minutes left until it was the officially meeting time.

But when it was past the meeting time, they were starting to wonder where the others. Aside from the idle chatter from Mineta and Kaminari, it was quiet. Iida, being the punctual class rep, whipped out his phone and dialed the numbers off all the missing students, starting with Midoriya. With his usual odd hand movements, he asked them where they were and why weren't they showing up on time.

The only reassurance from the late students were that they were coming soon.

Approximately eighteen minutes after Iida called the others, there were signs of new arrivals to Lobby 7. Everyone looked at the elevator that lit up, indicating that someone was on their way up. Mizuha stood up and peeked at the screen that was displaying the name of the user. It was Midoriya. When the elevator arrived, he came running out while apologizing for his tardiness.

He slowed down after realizing that there weren't as much people as he thought, he probably believed he was the one everyone was waiting for.

"Huh? Wait, where's everyone else?"

"They're not here yet." Iida said with his arms crossed, "What do they think 'attending as a group' means?!" he asked no one in particular.

The first thing Mizuha noticed was his shoes. He was wearing his usual red shoes. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a small laugh. The girl was standing not too far away from Midoriya and openly pointed out this fact.

The green haired boy heard her, causing him to turn and face her. He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled with little embarrassment, "I didn't have time to buy any formal shoes..."

Mizuha waved her hand dismissively, "I'm just pointing it out."

An elevator dinged, announcing the arrival of another person. They all turned and checked the name displayed above.

It was Uraraka.

The doors opened, revealing the brunette in a pink dress looking a little flustered from her late arrival.

"Sorry! I'm late…" she walked out of the elevator.

Mineta and Kaminari let out cheers at the sight of her.

Not even a minute later, Yaoyorozu and Jiro arrived.

"I apologize, but Jiro…"

Said girl was hiding behind the taller one.

"Oh, yes! Yes!" the two boys cheered while fist pumping the air.

"My lord… can it already." Mizuha muttered.

The two girls approached the group. Jiro held her jacket and looked down, "I'm… not used to clothes like this."

Kaminari gave a thumbs up, "The clothes make the man, right?"

"She looks like female assassin…" Mineta muttered.

This did not slip by Jiro, who plugged her earphone jacks into them and nearly knocked them out from the channeled sound of heartbeat. After suffering for a few seconds, she removed them and placed her hand on her hips, "Shut up."

Kaminari scowled with hands on his knees, "But I was complimenting you!"

Jiro looked away towards Mizuha, "No you weren't."

Then she noticed Mizuha. Her mood instantly changed and she felt slightly envious of Mizuha.

"Ahh… lucky." she frowned, "You're wearing something you're comfortable in…"

Mizuha smiled a little, "You'll get used to it in later." she reassured, "... probably." she added with a chuckle.

Mineta and Kaminari made more annoying sounds when Melissa arrived in her own dress.

...

...

...

Iida checked his watch again for the umpteenth time that evening, "Now we're just missing Bakugo-kun and Kirishima-kun." He pulled out his phone and called the first twice and then called the last when the bomber didn't answer his phone.

They weren't answering their phones.

"Neither of them is picking up their phones."

A sound suddenly rang throughout the building.

"Huh?" Kaminari looked up.

 _ **"This is an announcement by I-Island security system. We have received a report from the security system that an explosive device was placed in the I-Expo area."**_

"A bomb?!" Mineta freaked.

 ** _"I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Residents and tourists should return to their homes or lodgings. Anyone still outside ten minutes from now may be arrested without warning."_**

A metallic noise sounded in the building.

"Look!" Uraraka pointed at the windows.

 ** _"In addition, most of the main buildings—"_**

Suddenly, the tower started locking down, trapping all the students and its current party members within it. Everyone whirled around, watching as all the windows got covered with metal panels.

 ** _"—will be sealed off by the security system."_**

Mizuha instantly felt a chill down her spine. She had a feeling that something was wrong. Quickly, she leveled herself to the height of one of the windows that had not been covered with the help of her ice. Everyone watched as she struck the glass window with ice, shattering the glass while trying to get her ice to halt the panel's descent. But the metal panel closed faster than she expected.

Mizuha clicked her tongue and lowered her hand. She dropped down to the ground after slipping through her ice that evaporated after turning into water, leaving no trace of her Quirk.

"You just broke I-Island property!" Iida accused while pointing at her.

"I had a bad feeling just now! And that feeling was telling me to break a window!" Mizuha defended, crossing her arms.

She didn't see anything wrong in what she did.

Todoroki pulled out his phone and noticed that his device was also affected by the security.

He looked up, "My phone has no signal." he said, "It looks like all reports are being blocked." He informed the others.

Mizuha pulled out her own phone and checked for herself.

 _He's right. I can't call or use the internet... The security system is interfering with everything._

Jiro looked at the others after attempting to call up an elevator, "The elevator isn't responding either."

Melissa placed a hand under chin, clearly perplexed by the situation, "I don't believe the security system would switch to high alert mode just because they found something explosive."

Midoriya looked at the class rep and suggested they check out the place where the party was being held. His reasoning being that All Might was attending the party too.

With Melissa's directions, they all took the stairs to reach a floor level that was above the party so that they can see what was going down below. Midoriya and Jiro went on ahead while the others waited outside in the staircase. Mizuha sat at the top of the stairs and tried to find a way to use her phone, to no avail. It was frustrating to know that they were clueless about what was going on thanks to the system blocking their devices.

Even if she restarted her phone, she would still be unable to use her phone.

Mizuha gritted her teeth in annoyance and stared at the screen. As good as she was with technology, she probably couldn't find a loop whole in I-Island's technology.

After a few minutes of waiting, the two classmates returned and updated them on the situation. To their horror, they found out that villains had taken over the tower and security system, and had the entire island as a hostage. The Heroes inside the party room were unable to fight back thanks to restraints. They were instructed to get away from the tower as soon as possible.

"I suggest that we follow the directions of U.A teacher All Might and escape from this place." Iida said firmly.

The vice-president of their class agreed, "We are still students. We cannot fight against villains without our hero licenses." she reminded.

"Then what if we escape and tell heroes outside—"

"No." Mizuha cut Kaminari off. Her arms were crossed and her head was tilted backwards at the wall, staring at the ceiling above her, "All Might said that the villains had hostages, most likely all the people on the island. And knowing how I-Island is such a technological place, I have a feeling that they'll have eyes everywhere thanks to cameras. It wouldn't take them long to find out what we were doing, and in worst case scenario, we might get someone hurt."

Kaminari stared at her for a moment, registering her logic before dropping his head dejectedly.

"True."

Melissa nodded, "It'll be hard to escape too. This place is built with the same level of security as Tartarus, where criminal villains are kept."

Mizuha sighed heavily. This is not how she wanted to spend her night.

"Then, all we can really do is just wait until help comes…" Kaminari stated.

Mizuha mindlessly listened to the following exchanges, tired and conflicted. As much as she wanted to try and help, she still wanted to respect the law. It wasn't like her internship where she was able to get away with helping a hostage with almost no Quirk attacks towards the villain.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when Mineta started raising his voice, "You're planning on fighting the villains?! Didn't you learn anything from USJ, Midoriya?!"

"It's not like that, Mineta! I've thought about it. We need a way we can save All Might and the others without fighting the villains."

"I understand how you feel," said Kaminari, "but is there anything that convenient…?"

"Even if it's hard, I still want to try!"

MIzuha turned her head to Midoriya, "Even if it means getting caught in the end?" she asked, reminding him of that possibility.

The green haired boy stared at her for moment before nodding his head, "I want to look for the best way possible and then go save everyone!"

Mizuha frowned, _But is it really possible?_

"I-Island's security system is on the top floor of this tower." Melissa informed them, seeming to look like she wanted to follow Midoriya, "If the villains have taken control of the system, then the authentication locks and passwords should have been disabled. We should be able to restart the system. We just need to get away from the eyes of the villains and get to the top floor… Then, maybe we can save everyone."

Jiro approached the blonde, "What do you mean by 'get away from the eyes of the villains'? How?"

"Currently, none of us have actually been harmed. I think the villains aren't used to working with the security system."

Todoroki's eyes fixed the floor as he thought about the possibility, "Avoid fighting and get the system back to normal, huh? I see."

Kaminari brightened up, clearly seeing some sense in the plan, "We could do it, don't you think?"

Jiro nodded, "Yeah."

Yaoyorozu placed fist underneath her chin, "But the villains are waiting on the top floor…"

"There's no need to fight!" Midoriya reassured, "If we get the system back to normal, then All Might and the hostages will be released. When that happens, the table will be turned in an instant!"

Uraraka was the first to stand, ready to try and do something to help the situation, stating that they should be doing something if they can.

Midoriya stood up, "Yeah, let's help the people who need help! Let's do what our natural instincts are telling us to do."

Their exchange was followed by Todoroki, Jiro, Iida, Yaoyorozu and Kaminari who agreed to do the same.

The only ones who haven't said something were Mizuha and Mineta. Everyone who already agreed looked at the two who didn't say anything. Mizuha looked at Midoriya who was staring at her, hoping she'd agree to help too. As she stared at the determination in his eyes, she somehow found it difficult to say no.

With a sigh, she got up from the floor and dusted her pants. "I'll go. I'm not staying here."

 _I'll go. I want to help too._

That's what she meant.

Everyone stared at the shortest student.

Feeling the pressure, Mineta cried out with tears, "Oh, all right! I get it! I just have to go, right?"

* * *

Mizuha was slowly regretting her decision. They've been running up flights of stairs non-stop, making her wonder what exactly was the top floor of this tower. She was panting heavily, occasionally forgetting to breathe through her nose as the thought of more stairs stressed her out.

She wasn't a stairs person. Never was and never will. No matter how much she trained, stairs were the worst.

Once they made it to the 30th floor, Midoriya was the first one to turn and ask the blonde girl.

"Melissa, what's the top floor?"

She panted for a moment, adding suspense.

"The 200th floor."

Mizuha's jaw dropped.

"Seriously?!" Kaminari and Mizuha exclaimed.

The platinum blonde haired girl sighed heavily. She took several steps back until she reached the wall. She tilted backwards and let herself collide against the hard surface behind her. Mizuha was trembling with irritation, her face was twitching. Too many stairs. She was a lazy person. She sighed and slammed her fist on the wall, creating an ice platform beneath her feet which promptly drove her upwards against the wall. She evaporated her Quirk behind her to not hinder their climb as they pressed on.

"Hyoumei-kun! Where are you going?!" Iida shouted, his voice becoming more distant as she climbed.

"I'll be damned if I find something blocking our path!" she muttered to herself, "The last thing I want is to climb and get stuck."

When she made it to a certain floor, she was absolutely ticked off when she saw a shutter firmly shut in front of her. She stepped off of the ice platform and groaned loudly, making her annoyed groan echo throughout the entire staircase.

"What's wrong?" Iida yelled from a lower level after hearing her distress.

"There's a STUPID shutter up here." She nearly screamed.

It didn't take them too long to catch up to her meanwhile she took this opportunity to catch her breath. She seriously wondered how they could climb up stairs, especially a ridiculous amount.

"What should we do?" Todoroki wondered, panting, "Break it?"

"If we do that, then the security system will react, and the villains will notice us." Melissa quickly said before they even tried.

"Then can't we just go from here?" Mineta asked from behind.

Mizuha turned her head and glanced over her shoulder.

She instantly paled, "HEY—!"

"Mineta!"

"No!"

He just notified the villains about their whereabouts by opening a metal door behind them.

Everyone stared at the shorter boy with disbelief.

Mineta gulped when he saw a certain girl glaring down at him, her eyes were literally screaming at him.

Mizuha growled, her patience was very thin tonight, "You little—"

"I didn't know!" he cried out defensively and backed away.

She tried reaching for his little neck only to get held back by Todoroki who kept a firm grip on her blazer.

"Now's not the time." he reminded, his hold tightening once she struggled.

"BUT HE—"

"No, time! We have to move now!" Melissa said.

With no other choice, they all went through the door that Mineta had opened and raced across in search of another door.

"Is there any other way to go up?" Todoroki asked.

"There's another emergency staircase like this on the opposite side."

"Let's hurry!" Iida picked up his pace.

They all stopped when a shutter suddenly closed ahead of them. More shutters started closing, blocking their path. It wasn't just in the front but also behind them. The villains were going to box them in.

Iida quickly pointed at the only door that could guarantee their escape, "Todoroki!"

The said boy rushed his ice in between the shutters before them, stopping the them. Then, Iida jumped in between the shutters and broke the door on the other side.

"Let's cross inside here!" they heard him say.

…

…

…

They ran inside the plant factory in search for another way to the top.

"Wait! Look at that!" Jiro stopped everyone and pointed at the elevator across.

They were on the 80th floor, and the elevator was showing them that someone was on their way up with display of numbers changing above it. Mizuha didn't even wait for the others and ran in search of a hiding spot. She literally dove behind the closest bush that could only hide one person while the others went on further ahead to hide as group.

The elevator opened and two villains walked out of it.

Mizuha controlled her breathing and peeked into a small opening, observing them attentively. From her perspective, she could see them approaching the hiding spot her other classmates were hiding in. They were approaching it with every second. Mizuha scowled and moved her hand in front of her soundlessly, if it came to it… she'd have to do something if they tried to attack them.

She saw something moving in her peripheral vision. Alarmed, she whipped her head towards whatever was moving and her jaw dropped at what she saw. It was Kirishima and Bakugo, both dressed in their formal attire.

As much as she was happy to see them, she felt concerned for their safety now that the villains spotted them.

"I found you, you damn kids!"

"HUH?! What the did you say, you bastard?"

Mizuha sweat dropped, there was a high probability that they didn't know what the heck was going on and Bakugo looked ready to explode on the spot by the way his face was twitching.

"What are you two doing here?" they asked her classmates.

Bakugo held up his head and glared, "That's what _I_ want to know—" he took a step forward.

Kirishima held him back, "Leave this to me, okay?!" he quickly said before walking towards the two villains with a hand behind his head, "Um, we got lost… Where should we go for the reception?"

"Oh god…" Mizuha used her elbows to push herself up, hastily gathering herself up, "Not good." she dashed out of her hiding spot.

"I can see through you! Don't lie to me!" the taller villain used his Quirk and aimed at Kirishima.

Mizuha literally slid her way there with her ice after picking up speed with her run, and grabbed Kirishima's arm, pulling him away from the attack.

"H-Hyoumei?!" he gaped.

Just then, Todoroki's ice blocked the Quirk that was still aimed towards them with a wall of ice.

Bakugo looked up at the Quirk and easily identified who it belonged to.

Mizuha helped up Kirishima who fell after loosing his footing on her ice, "You okay?" she quickly asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, thanks for the save…" he thanked, "but what's going on?" asked the redhead.

"The freakin' usual. Villains. They took over the tower."

"Huh?"

"What?!"

"Hyoumei." Todoroki called, making her turn around to face him. "Go with them, they'll need your help along on the way up." he referred to the others that he was leveling up with his ice.

Mizuha looked at her classmates, unsure about what to do. She stared at Bakugo for a few seconds and was instantly reminded of how strong he was thanks to the memory of USJ and her math with him during the Sports Festival. It wasn't just him, they were all strong. There was no need to worry too much about it.

The villains broke out of Todoroki's ice.

"Hyoumei, get going!" Todoroki readied himself with Kirishima and Bakugo.

Mizuha used a pillar of ice to lunge herself upwards to one of railings above and used pressurized water to help her land on the metal surface, almost like how Bakugo uses his explosions to propel himself in the air. Once she was stable on her feet, she caught up to the others and Yaoyorozu explained to her that they were having Mineta drop down a ladder for them by going through another way.

* * *

130th floor.

 _Too many security bots inside._

Mizuha peeked inside the room in a way she wouldn't be spotted.

Next to her, Iida was also looking in, "It look like the enemy has changed from shutting us in to trying to captures us."

"I'm sure they realized that we're U.A students." Midoriya remarked from behind them.

"But in that case, then we know what to expect, too!" Yaoyorozu created a blanket that was similar to the one she made during the second part of the Sports Festival.

It was Kaminari's turn.

With the help of Iida, Kaminari was thrown over to the center where all the robots were gathered. Yaoyorozu signaled the others to get under the blanket to prevent getting attacked by his electricity.

"Indiscriminate Shock 1.3 Million Volts!"

Mizuha flinched when she saw the electricity approach. She knew the blond boy's Quirk wasn't going to reach her thanks to the blanket but it was just an instinctive reaction.

Midoriya lifted up the blanket, "They defended!"

Seeing Midoriya lift up the blanket made Mizuha try and tug it back down.

"2 Million Volts!"

Mizuha grabbed the blanket tighter and forced it down on her securely, she really didn't want to get hit by his Quirk. She shut her eyes and simply waited for Kaminari to finish his attack. Through her eyelids, she saw the light of his electricity fade and suddenly it was quiet. When opened her eyes, she saw him standing there like and idiot.

Everyone got out from under the blanket and approached the seemingly harmless robots, believing that they had been stopped... that is until they saw them tie up their classmate in wires. The other robots that didn't tie him up began charging towards them.

Yaoyorozu handed the girls the red tools that would jam their communication while the boys worked on stopping the security robots.

It didn't work.

Iida readied himself, "Let's go, Midoriya!"

"Yeah!" the green haired boy took off his red jacket and activated a device on his right arm that stretched and wrapped around his arm like a gauntlet.

Midoriya blew away the small robots with one punch, making them release Kaminari which helped Iida catch the blond idiot in midair.

Now, their path was clear of obstacles once again.

Everyone dashed towards the other end of the room where the other door was. Mizuha, who was behind everyone, ran next to the rail and peeked down at the robots that had fallen. They were showing no signs of jumping or climbing their way up. The girl focused her attention back in front of her and picked up her pace.

But then heard footsteps walking on metal behind her, the sound came from where they arrived earlier. Mizuha skidded to a stop and spun around on her heel to see what was behind her. The first thing she saw was a hand stretching and coming straight at her. She clicked her tongue. Her arms extended out to her sides, creating an ice rampart as they crossed the door, blocking the path behind her. She leaned away from the hand and instantly grabbed its wrist once she saw an opening.

There standing a couple of feet away from her was a guy dressed like one of the guys who came out of the elevator. In other words, a villain.

The rumbling sound of her rampart caught the attention of her classmates and Melissa. They were shocked to see that path they just came from was suddenly blocked with no opening.

"Hyoumei!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"What are you—" Jiro started, but Mizuha cut her off, "Don't ask! Keep going!"

She didn't hear them continue on right away, making her appreciate that they were concerned about leaving her. Compared to Todoroki who stayed behind earlier, she was alone on this one. Besides, it was too late to swap with someone since she already blocked their path. She knew they could see her past her dense ice.

 _Then they should know that I'll be fine._

The sound of their footsteps echoed behind her. They were finally moving again.

A small smile appeared on her lips and she focused all her attention on the enemy in front of her.

 _I'll freeze him from here._

Mizuha froze the villain's arm and made her ice cross it, making it rush to the villain. His arm was getting encased with her ice.

She expected him to try and resist, which is why she tightened her hold on his wrist.

What she didn't expect was him leaping in the air and literally bending his arm in ways that weren't humanly possible.

 _A quirk that makes him flexible and stretch?_

The ice broke from the bending motions.

The villain stretched his other arm and he grabbed the rail of the platform she was standing on, and then pulled himself down. Mizuha gasped and ducked when his leg swooped down on her. She effectively dodged and made a dash to the opposite side of the platform. She wasn't too worried about the wall of ice she made, it was sturdy enough to withstand a punch from someone who wasn't as strong as All Might.

When she made it far enough on the other side, she turned and tried attacking him with ice attacks but he kept evading them like an acrobat.

He was evading her attacks and it didn't help that he moved pretty fast.

She seriously had no idea on how she was going to beat this guy. Her ice wasn't working, steam would definitely not work and her water—

 _Water?_

Just as elastic man could try and reach her again, she slammed her palms against the floor and emitted a large wave of water, flooding the entire room. The violent torrent of water descended onto the villain, tossing him around inside its domain.

When Mizuha was about to freeze the water, a hand shot out from the water and attached itself around her neck, making her cease her Quirk out of shock.

He was choking the life out of her.

The water dropped and flooded the lower level of the room where the security robots were.

"Did you really think that would work?" he asked as he approached her, tightening his grip around her neck.

She tried clawing at his skin but he wouldn't let go. She was sure that if he kept this up, it was going to bruise her neck.

He stood in front of her and smirked, "Don't even struggle—"

Mizuha glared at him, "LET ME GO!" she shouted and created an ice blade.

 _Law? What law?_

 _Screw that right now._

She ran the ice blade across his skin.

The villain yelped out in pain and released her before cradling his injured arm. Then, she reached back and undid her hair by removing the claw clip keeping it in place. Then she threw it violently at his face, hitting him square on his left eye. He squinted his left eye from the pain and brought a hand up to it. As he was too preoccupied with his physical well being, he didn't notice Mizuha pick up the abandoned blanket and was surprised to see her wrap it around his head.

"What the hell?!" his voice was muffled.

She angrily started dragging around his head with the blanket, knocking him against the rail and the floor every time he resisted. He wailed every time his head collided with a hard surface.

"Don't touch me with your nasty hands!" she yelled before literally throwing him off the platform head first.

The villain wouldn't give up. He stretched his arm and grabbed onto her arm, effectively pulling himself up right in front of Mizuha. She gasped when she saw him pull back his arm, ready to punch her.

Suddenly, she felt herself get thrown back, pulling the villain along with her.

Mizuha cried out in surprise as she tripped over her own shoes.

She started falling backwards.

"Whoa!" she heard someone say behind her before catching her.

"DIE!"

Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar ash blond haired boy jump in front of her. He grabbed the villain's face and she saw light emit from underneath his palm for a split second before the villain was thrown downwards towards the security bots.

She blinked.

Bakugo landed an explosion on the man's face.

Ouch.

She didn't even notice it but the guy's hand was no longer on her arm.

There was no doubt that Bakugo knocked him out with that explosion to the face, and with the way the robots beeped below them, the villain was surely wrapped in wires just like how Kaminari was earlier.

She stared at him, _How did he get here so fast?_

"You alright?" she heard Kirishima behind her.

Mizuha glanced behind her shoulder and came face to face with his face. He eyes looked relieved that she was okay and there was a smile on his face that showed her he was glad he caught her fall.

 _Right, that angry boy literally threw me..._

Mizuha nodded with a small smile. The redhead took that as his cue to let her go, seeing as she could steady herself on her own.

"Thanks for catching my fall."

The redhead smiled at her, "Hey, no problem." he patted her shoulder.

Todoroki was there too.

She was about to say something to him about how she was sort of was able to help the others but not exactly since she was having trouble with a villain, until she heard Bakugo.

Bakugo scoffed, "You couldn't even handle _that_ on your own?"

Mizuha gave him a tired look, _I should be grateful that this guy saved me buuuut… I'm not feeling like it._

* * *

She continued on with Bakugo, Kirishima and Todoroki. They continued to climb up the tower. She had to endure Bakugo's shouting as he kept getting impatient from the amount of stairs. He was so impatient that he decided to take a random shortcut that they didn't know where it led to. They still followed after him anyway. Perhaps it was a good thing he decided to take a shortcut because they arrived just in the nick of time to help Uraraka who was helping Midoriya and Melissa reach the top via her Quirk. She couldn't do anything to defend herself while the two floated to a higher level of the tower, leaving her vulnerable to the attack of security robots. Once the two made it to higher ground safely, the five students were left with the small security robots. All they really had to do now was have faith that they would reach the security system.

Their struggle against the robots wasn't difficult but they had to fend off against non-stop attacks from a large number of them. Mizuha wasn't sure how long they were fighting for but it seemed like an eternity.

Finally, the robots stopped attacking.

Upon realizing that Melissa must have fixed the security system, they all stopped.

Relieved, Mizuha dropped on her rear and let out a huge sigh, "Ahh... that was loong." she mumbled to herself.

Then she suddenly remembered that Iida and the others still existed and she didn't know where they were.

"Hey…" she caught the other four's attention, "someone call Iida and ask if they're okay." Mizuha said with a lazy hand motion.

Todoroki was the one to do so.

Mizuha ignored the idle chatter between Kirishima and Uraraka and simply dropped back against the floor, wanting nothing more than to rest up a little. She was really using her Quirk non-stop, especially when she had to warm herself up with arm water and hot steam from her own ice. She didn't even know what time it was. All she knew was that the breeze felt wonderful and that everything was fine now. The tables had turned now that Melissa fixed the security system, all they had to do now was wait for the Pro Heroes to deal with the villains that remained in the tower.

She felt the tower rumble violently beneath her.

Her face turned sour.

"Oh my god…" she said lowly before shooting up into a sitting position, "What the hell is going on now?!" Mizuha whined.

Within the few resting minutes she had, it seemed like Iida, Yaoyorozu, Jiro, Mineta and Kaminari caught up to them and was also wondering about what was going on.

"Look up there!" Kirishima pointed upwards.

Pieces of the tower's metal material was getting torn from the tower and was assembling together at the top. It definitely didn't look like it was part of the security system.

"That doesn't look good." Jiro stated the obvious.

Mizuha got up from the floor and dusted off her clothes, "We're going up there aren't we?" she muttered.

…

…

…

It was really a mess when they made it to the very top of the tower. All the metal parts of the tower that assembled to together created a sort of tower for the villain in the center of it… In other words, a pile of garbage was gathered together.

Upon arrival, they were all quick to noticed All Might struggling and that lumps of metal were heading straight towards him. Mizuha quickly used her Quirk alongside Todoroki to freeze the lumps of metal, preventing them from moving another inch towards their teacher. Bakugo instantly propelled himself in the air and sent what almost looked like rays of explosives at the villain who created a wall to fend off Bakugo's attacks.

Mizuha winced at the sight of Bakugo gripping his wrist, obviously feeling the strain of using his explosives.

"How can you get beat up by such a damn lame last boss?! Huh, All Might?!"

"While you can… the villain…" Todoroki panted.

All the students who were still capable of fighting and were more suited to taking on the lumps of metal stepped forward. Iida, Bakugo, Mizuha, Kirishima and Todoroki all charged forward.

Knowing how the four students were going to try and assist All Might, the villain aimed the lumps of metal towards them. Mizuha made a huge ice hammer and let out a cry as she knocked down the lumps of metal to the floor and then froze them against the ground.

"Whoa!" Mizuha yelped as one of them, that was not properly frozen, zoomed towards her at incredible speed. She was barely able to dodge it before freezing it in place in midair.

It seemed like freezing them on the spot was quicker than freezing them to the ground.

…

Suddenly, All Might let out a pained scream.

Mizuha ceased her movements and stared at her teacher who was being restrained right in front of the villain. She didn't know what the villain did but by the sound of that scream, it was certain he did harm to All Might.

Sensing another metal of lump heading her way, she nimbly moved to the side and avoided it while managing to keep her eyes on her teacher, obviously worried for him.

All Might was pushed away from the villain and was struck with the floating cubes of metal from every direction, much to everyone's horror. And as if that wasn't horrific enough, the villain pierced spears of metal through the cubes, all directed to the Symbol of Peace.

Mizuha did not but stare silently, at a loss for words.

What was she supposed to think?

That it was possible that All Might died right then and there?

No, he was the Symbol of Peace. He couldn't fall…

 _Or maybe he could? He was human just like everyone else—_

Her negative thoughts were stopped when she saw Midoriya jumped up into the air and aim his own punch to free their teacher.

"Midoriya…?" she whispered quietly.

Midoriya had a power type Quirk just like All Might. Sure, he demonstrated that he had better control of his Quirk during class but did it mean he was able to break such a thing?

Mizuha's eyes widened in shock when he proved that he could, successfully freeing All Might who was fortunately still alive and kicking. It seemed like Midoriya was also able to somewhat stun the villain, making him halt all his attacks.

 _Is it just me or does he seem stronger than usual...?_

She had no idea where they ended up but it seemed like they were safe for now.

The girl stood up straight and waited for any signs of the villain resuming his attacks. She still had to take care of the lumps of metal that she could reach once they were aimed at All Might.

 _Huh? They're standing together?_

 _Don't tell me All Might and Midoriya are going to do this together?_

The yellow haired man and the green haired boy both charged forward at full speed.

 _Whoa. Okay._

Mizuha spotted several lumps of metal homing in on Midoriya right after he split up from All Might to climb another part of the villain's metal 'castle'.

"Ah, fuck off already!" Mizuha shouted, creating a wall of ice between the metal and Midoriya.

Bakugo, Todoroki, Kirishima and Iida were doing the same.

Without warning, the floor shook from the disassembling metal beneath them. A giant piece of metal ripped out from the floor beneath Mizuha, making her loose her footing and sending her rolling onto her side. Still determined to help out, Mizuha stood back up and clawed the smoke away from her sight.

Just as she was about to continue assisting, she realized that there was no need for it. Both her teacher and classmate were doing just fine on their own thanks to their Quirks. Midoriya and All Might were evading all attacks at lightning speed and breaking through with no problem.

The girl whirled around and searched for her classmates. To her surprise, she found all of them gathered somewhere in the back. Iida, Kirishima, Todoroki and Bakugo all ceased their attacks on the metal. Without hesitation, she ran to them and joined their little group. She turned around witnessed the feat that was about to unfold in front of her eyes.

Now that she was watching them carefully without getting distracted by anything, she realized something. It was like as if Midoriya and All Might shined brightly in the night's darkness. They were the light in the dark.

"Go…!"

"All Might!"

"Midoriya!"

"Get him!" Mizuha screamed with Bakugo and Todoroki.

Midoriya and All Might's fists collided against the villain, creating a beam of light upon impact. The shockwave of the attack resulted in the tower quaking momentarily and breaking a bit.

…

…

Once the smoke cleared, shattered pieces of metal rained down and the villain was no longer in sight. Aside from the clanking of metal, everything was completely silent.

Everyone stared with awe.

"Did they do it?" Iida asked to no one in particular as he stared ahead.

"They did it…" Mineta realized, "They finished off the villain!"

Everyone started cheering for the achieved victor.

It was finally over.

The long night was finally over.

With a small smile, Mizuha stared at each of her classmates, observing the different displays of content on their faces. When she turned around to look at Bakugo and Todoroki, she swore she saw the first smile a little.

Mizuha gaped, "Whoa… you smiled." she stated the obvious.

"Shut up!" Bakugo barked, "I did not!" he denied.

As if a switch was turned on, Mizuha grinned in a silly manner.

She giggled uncharacteristically and approached him in a goofy manner, poking his face, "Smile~"

"The fuck?! Don't touch me!" He slapped her hands away.

Mizuha pouted, "Ehh…" she bent over and let her arms sway.

Todoroki and Bakugo found it weird that she was displaying a loopy attitude out of nowhere.

"The hell is up with you?!"

"Are you okay?"

She stood up straight and then yawned into her palm, making little tears form in her eyes. Her hand dropped down to her side and stared at the two tiredly who stared back at her in confusion. They watched as she slowly turned around, facing her back towards them. The girl was searching for a certain someone. Once he was locked on, she lazily walked over to him. She was walking straight towards the redheaded boy.

Kirishima who noticed her, beamed at her, "Hyoumei! It's finally over!"

Mizuha hummed with a lazy thumbs up and continued walking towards him. Confused, Kirishima simply watched as she walked closer and faced his left shoulder. Then, she tilted forward and dropped her forehead against his shoulder.

"Ehh?! What's wrong?!" Kirishima asked and tried turning around.

 _Tried._

He arms shot up and stopped his movements.

"Tiiiired." She drawled, keeping him in place.

He blinked, "That's it?"

She nodded against his shoulder.

Jiro placed her hands on her hips and watched Mizuha with amusement, "I mean we have been up all night." She pointed out.

Uraraka laughed at that, "Yeah and it's morning too." She remarked, pointing at the horizon.

With one eye, Mizuha peeked at the sky.

She was right. The sun was beginning to rise now, making Mizuha feel sleepier. She shuffled her feet and turned her body so that her back would be facing the sun. Now, she was standing next to Kirishima with her head still resting on his shoulder. Kirishima craned his neck and observed how her eyelids were barely staying open.

He laughed lightly, "You really are _sleepy._ " he remarked, lightly ruffling her bangs.

She replied with a hum. It wasn't an annoyed hum, but rather one that just came out to respond to his action.

He wrapped an arm around her to steady her as she was starting to slip off his shoulder.

Whenever she was feeling sleepy and a little loopy from it, she would act like a leech and just attach herself to Byakuren whenever they walked home in the evening after a long hang out day. He acted like her guide since she had the habit of just following where he was pulling her while more or less walking on her own.

Her sleepy attachment only applied when two things were in play. She had to be far away from what she called home and she needed a friend to 'guide' her like blind person.

Currently, her home was the hotel and her guide-friend was Kirishima.

It was amazing how she fell asleep while standing up.

* * *

 **'I-Island Arc' is almost done! One more chapter to go.**

 **Mizuha's fight wasn't as intense as her others because Midoriya and All Might are the ones fighting a major villain. Mizuha is like basically just fighting against fodder so I thought it was fine to leave it as it is. I just made it seem a little more comically.**

 **The I-Island Arc is supposed to help Mizuha's character and the aftermath of the movie will be more important!**

 **(Getting frustrated that I can't post weekly chapters because of school... can't be helped. MAYBE I CAN GET THE NEXT CHAPTER DONE ON THE WEEKEND...?)**


	10. Chapter 10: Hanging Out

Everyone went back to their hotels to rest up after the long night. Mizuha represented what the majority was feeling by morning, tired. She was a literal manifestation of it. After planting her head on Kirishima's shoulder, she clung onto him like a leech and wouldn't let go. She barely had her eyes open and Kirishima had to guide her out of the tower since she couldn't even walk straight anymore. She nearly ran into a wall once. The redhead actually found it a little flattering to know that she fully trusted him with this sort of thing. A thing that was usually reserved for a certain white-haired boy. It was undeniable proof that she truly warmed up to him.

When they made it out of the tower, Mizuha was obligated to let go of him when he started gently prying her hands off him. They had to part ways since their hotels were in different directions. She pouted a little before he patted her head and ushered her to Todoroki who was waiting up on her tired self. All that was left was to follow Todoroki like a lost puppy. On the way to their hotel, she barely had her eyes open.

Mizuha rubbed her right eye lightly with her middle finger and index finger as she sat up in her bed.

She remembered walking to the wrong door at some point and was about to furiously try and get her keycard to work when the door refused to open. Thankfully, Todoroki noticed this and quickly fetched her before she created more disturbance to the people sleeping in that room. Other than that, everything else went smoothly. They both made it to their appropriate rooms, changed their clothes and crashed into their beds.

Mizuha paused her movements when she remembered something. She looked up at the ceiling.

 _I didn't close the lights when I went to bed…_

She tilted her head in confusion, still too tired to try and think of a logical explanation.

It was when she lowered her head and stared at the door dividing her room and her classmate's.

 _Ahh… Todoroki must have turned off my light._

"Man… I'm such a handful if I don't get my sleep." she laughed softly to herself.

The curtains left an opening for the sunlight to infiltrate her room and brightened it up a little, a clear indication that it was daytime. Mizuha had woken up a few minutes ago but she didn't feel like getting out of bed. She dropped herself back on her backside and rolled on her side, away from the light. She pulled the blanket over her head. Maybe she could catch a few more minutes of shut eye if she tried really hard…

 _Chirp, chirp, chirp._

…

…

…

Yeah, she wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon.

Mizuha's eyes opened slowly and she sighed heavily with annoyance.

 _I guess I'll just get up then._

Mizuha tossed the bed cover off her body with one arm and left it said arm suspended in the air. After a few seconds, she dropped her arm back down (nearly smacked her face while she did) and literally rolled out of bed. Her feet wrapped in socks touched the carpeted floor and she steadied herself on them once she was standing.

Today was the last day she and Todoroki were going to spend their time on I-Island. Once they returned home, there would be a few days left until their Training Camp started. She'd probably spend her few days playing video games or something.

Mizuha lazily walked to her suitcase, covering her mouth with the back of her hand to hide her mouth that was imitating a lion's roar.

She was going to take it easy today. With that in mind, she reached for a set of clothes that was neatly folded insider her suitcase.

She paused.

 _I should probably shower first… especially after last night's fiasco._

* * *

Feeling refreshed, Mizuha tucked her keycard into her pocket along with her phone and quietly shut the door behind her as she exited the room. She was dressed in dark gray jeans, a blue shirt and a gray cardigan, meaning she was dressed like a civilian. Her hero costume was tucked away in her other suitcase, she wasn't planning on wearing it for the rest of her little trip.

She headed downstairs while listening to music with her headphones, determined to grab something light to eat in order to calm down her stomach's hunger tantrum. She grabbed whatever caught her eye when she was browsing. A circular sandwich that had a scrambled egg, some type of sausage and cheese. It wasn't too much nor was it too little. It was just fine with her bottle of juice.

With her breakfast, she walked towards the door that granted access to the large veranda outside. She pushed the door with her shoulder and walked out, and then made a beeline for the nearest table with shade that was provided from a part of the roof. Cool air and less exposure from the sun was more suitable place for someone like her.

As she started eating, she pulled out her phone and started texting her mother about her trip. Eventually, they just decided to call each other. She was calling to continue giving her mother updates on what just happened. Obviously, her mother wasn't too pleased to hear about the tower incident, especially since her school's been having villain encounters lately. Aside from that, Mizuha didn't forget to tell her mom she was enjoying the trip so far. She most likely would have started to regret not going after a day or so of thinking about it back at home.

The day Todoroki phoned her to ask if she wanted to come along, she had left her phone on the table and ran to her mother to ask her about what she should do. She didn't exactly ask her if she wanted to go. She asked if she _should_ go. They had a short conversation about it while Todoroki waited on the phone. Her reserved persona made it difficult for her to step past the line of her comfort zone, and flying somewhere to some island with a classmate seemed a little too far from her zone. However, Mizuki was quick to remind her that an opportunity like that could probably never happen again. The trip could be good to work on that fresh bond she had with Todoroki and any other classmate she might encounter on the island. The opportunity to do so was literally wrapped like a gift and presented to her, all she had to do was accept and work on it from there. It would be better to take that chance since she wasn't comfortable with initiating something. She was struggling on socializing like the norm, so she should use this opportunity just in case she cowers in the future.

Mizuha saw her point.

Mizuki had clearly given her permission but agreeing to go also lied with Mizuha's decision.

Her mother was right, she could use this trip to close the distance. All she had to do was keep her jittery nerves at bay and not run away like always.

Needless to say, she was right.

She definitely felt like she somehow shortened the gap… or maybe that was just thanks to her loopy self.

Mizuha hung up and placed her phone on the table next to her drink.

She acted a little more natural around Todoroki before she even realized it. She was at ease when talking with Kaminari. She had some type of friendly physical contact with Kirishima that she usually had with Byakuren. She initiated a small exchange with Midoriya over something simple. She talked a bit more with Jiro.

 _That was good, right?_

It had to be because those were all things she used to refuse to do with anyone else other than with Byakuren.

 _I'd like to believe that means something, but perhaps it's a little too early to say?_

Her ringtone rang in her ears. An eyebrow quirked up as she glanced down at her phone while chewing on the last piece of her sandwich. It was Byakuren's contact name. She grabbed her juice along with her phone and turned her chair around so that she can face the view behind her. Her phone rested on her lap and she reached up and pressed a certain button on her headphones, answering his call.

"Yes, dummy how can I help you?" she smirked.

 _"Good morning to you too sleepyhead."_

She rolled her eyes, "I'm pretty sure you heard about what happened from Kaminari and Mineta so don't call me sleepyhead. We were up all night."

She heard him hum.

 _"Kinda felt bad I didn't tag along but it doesn't matter since you guys did it anyway. By the way, you didn't tell me you were coming to I-Island."_

She gulped some of her juice and scoffed, "Yeah, and you didn't tell me shit either."

 _"You didn't ask."_

"And you didn't ask."

 _"… touché."_ he chuckled on the other side, _"Who did you come with?"_

Mizuha frowned, "… Todoroki."

 _"Huh? Since when has the Ice Queen and Thermometer gotten to a friendly stage?"_

"Ever since we met up at the hospital. And before you ask, he was there to visit someone." she recalled the time he told her that her own brother randomly started a conversation with Todoroki's mom, "And Shiran was being a weirdo." she cringed.

 _"So, two loners found something in common and became friends?"_

Mizuha eyes were half-lidded and she frowned, "Hey."

Byakuren laughed, _"Kidding… sorta. Anyway, there's a reason why I called you—"_

"– I'm not buying you anything."

 _"No! Listen! Geez. You probably don't know since you just woke up or something but the whole class is literally on this island and we made plans to meet up and have late lunch. All Might will be there too."_

Mizuha tilted her head, "All Might too? Wow."

 _"Yup. So, tell Todoroki to go with you if he didn't get the heads up."_

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold up, when the hell did I agree to this?!" she asked.

 _"I'll drag you there if I have to."_

"Boy," Mizuha laughed, "You won't be able to find me. I'll hide from you on this island."

 _"Then I'll just sneak in the tower and check all the cameras in the security system to find you."_

Mizuha leaned back against her seat and covered her face. They were both laughing at the thought of it. Imagining it was amusing. Hide-and-seek on a huge island, it sounded like fun too.

 _"But come for lunch, alright?"_

With a small smile, she rolled her eyes, "Yes mom."

 _"Aye, that's a good sign. You didn't say 'we'll see'."_

 ** _"Oi! Kyouran! Help us out here!"_**

Byakuren blinked. He lowered his phone and glanced behind his shoulder. Kaminari was standing there, sweating.

"Hm? What's up Kaminari?"

"Help us out here!" he pointed with his thumb behind him, "The place is starting to get busy again!" the blond wailed.

Just like yesterday, customers were starting to come in like it was the only place available on the whole island. Kaminari and Mineta were starting to suspect that Kyouran was 30% responsible for it, saying that they overheard a couple of young female customers fawning over a certain white haired boy with a gentle smile. They were convinced that most of the women were just waiting to get served by him.

Byakuren sighed and nodded before holding up a finger, telling him to just give him a minute or so to finish his call. He held up his phone back next to his ear, "Hey, I gotta go. I need to continue working."

"Have fun." Mizuha grinned, she heard everything.

 _"Yeah, yeah."_

"Bye."

 _"Bye."_

Mizuha picked up her phone and pressed a certain button to turn on her phone. The screen lit up, presenting her with six different options to do with her call. Her thumb went straight for the red button in the corner, pressing lightly on it until she heard the sound that indicated that their call ended. She lowered her phone and dropped it on her lap. With her dominant right hand, she reached up for her headphones and pushed it back until it fell and rested around her neck.

She rested her head against her chair and stared up at the blue sky.

It was so clear.

Her eyes slowly fluttered closed.

…

…

She heard plastic rustling.

Her eyes shot open and she instantly turned her seat around.

Todoroki paused his hands. He was in the middle of unwrapping the saranwrap around his sandwich. He stared back at her, confused from her sudden movement.

Mizuha gaped, "When did you get here?"

He continued his task, "Just now. I even said hello." replied Todoroki, nonchalantly, "But it looks like you didn't hear me." he pointed out.

Mizuha scratched her cheek with her finger, "… You did, huh?" she muttered.

She crossed her legs under the table all while being careful to not accidentally kick one of Todoroki's legs in front of her. She leaned back in her seat and shoved her hands into her pockets, "Hey, do you think you've rested enough from last night?"

He shrugged, "I feel fine."

Mizuha tilted her head and gave him a lopsided grin, "Would you be willing to have lunch with the class?" she asked, "Apparently there's a lunch gathering going on. All our classmates are going to be there… including All Might."

He looked down at his sandwich for a moment as he thought about it. Maybe he would refuse to rest a little more? But to her surprise, he nodded and agreed.

"And you?"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you want to go?" he asked her, "If you don't rest enough, you might end up the way you did hours ago." he reminded.

Mizuha sweat dropped when she recalled the memory of her loopy-sleepy self. She didn't feel any shame for expressing her sleepiness with Kirishima, but she did feel a little guilty for causing Todoroki a little trouble. Just little. Like two on a scale of ten.

She placed her elbow on the table and rested chin in her palm then looked away, "There's nothing wrong with feeling tired."

Todoroki made a small amused smile, "Of course there isn't it. I just haven't seen anyone display it in such a unique manner." he said before drinking his water.

Mizuha's dropped her head.

"Just so you know… I can control myself when I get tired! I was just… _really_ tired!"

"And there's nothing wrong with that." he repeated.

Mizuha pouted.

* * *

"Todoroki! Hyoumei! You made it!" Ashido exclaimed while waving at them after she noticed them walked out onto the veranda.

The class arranged a barbecue party near by the water on a large veranda. When they arrived, they could already hear the sizzling coming from the barbecue grills and they could smell the freshly cooked meat in the air. The attention that Ashido casted on them by announcing their arrival almost made Mizuha retreat back inside but she was able to stay rooted in her spot.

Todoroki nodded his head while Mizuha waved sheepishly.

All Might turned to them and smiled widely before walking to them, "Young Todoroki and Young Hyoumei!" he greeted," Please help yourselves! There is already food on the table over there." He placed both hands on their shoulders and ushered them forward.

Hearing Ashido say the girl's name made Byakuren and Kirishima turn around, pausing their task in front of their grill. The white haired boy beamed a gentle smile while waving a tong in the air.

"Mizu-chan~"

Kirishima beamed his own boyish smile and waved too, "Hyoumei! You came!"

Hearing her little nickname, Todoroki looked at the girl next to him who was supporting a tired looking expression with her right eye twitching a few times.

"Don't call me that in front of the others! Stupid Byakkun!" She started with a muttered but ended with a shout for the insult before marching over to him and Kirishima.

Todoroki closed his eyes for a moment and chuckled softly to himself. He reopened his eyes and walked over to a table where Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami were at.

Mizuha swiped a tong from a nearby table and threatened to smack Byakuren with it. The white haired boy squeaked and hid behind the redhead with a grin. She wasn't actually going to beat him with it… probably just _lightly_ slap his forehead with it and Byakuren knew that, he was just playing along with her. Kirishima held up his hands, showing that he wasn't going to get involved with the two's mini quarrel. Mizuha lowered her hand and smirked, satisfied. She walked back to the table and placed the tong right where she found it.

When she returned, she stood in front of the grill and stared at the sticks with food that were cooking.

Byakuren glanced at her and smiled.

If she was already having no problem acting the way she used to do with him privately, then it was proof that she was getting more comfortable. She was fine with letting others see how she usually was. As if congratulating her on her progress, Byakuren picked up a kebab that looked cooked and held it up to his friend. She looked at the kebab in confusion.

"Here. Take it." Byakuren urged her while moving it up and down repeatedly.

Mizuha stared at him while slowly reaching out for the stick. She took it firmly into her hand and made sure not to drop it, especially since they went through all the effort to cook it.

"Consider it my reward for you." he grinned.

Mizuha blew on the top, "For what?"

"For keeping your word and not hiding you who are anymore."

Her eyes widened a fraction.

…

…

…

 _Yes, I think I can believe that what I'm doing means something._

 _I have been changing, haven't I?_

Kirishima watched as her face expression changed from a surprised one to a happy one. One of those rare genuine smiles appeared again. She looked a little bashful from her friend's words.

She looked _really_ happy.

Seeing the content look on her face made Byakuren laugh. He moved next to her and placed an arm around her shoulders and then ruffled her hair with his free hand, a gesture that praised her. Mizuha closed her eyes, enjoying the praise.

The white haired boy looked at the red head and pointed at his friend with the tong, "She's better this way, isn't she?"

Mizuha looked at Kirishima when the question was asked.

The old Mizuha was reserved and distant. She was hiding things to herself that no one had the slightest idea about, making it difficult to see who she was. She always hid and turned away from help when she really needed it. She was a loner that longed to reach out to others but was too afraid to.

The real Mizuha was a whole different story. She was shy and sometimes awkward. Her friends are important to her. She was aggressive but still meant well. She was trying to change and he could see that she was. She was really trying. She was more genuine.

Kirishima gave her a toothy grin, "Yeah, you're definitely better as yourself." he nodded, "I like the real Hyoumei! She's way more interesting than the fake one."

She blinked.

Byakuren shook her lightly with a smile, "See?!"

Just then, she felt overjoyed.

The feeling of being overjoyed came from hearing someone say that they actually accepted the way she was, accepting her the same way Byakuren did. It was a simple thing but it made her feel so happy. How strange. Now, it felt as if the final, thin and almost non-existent wall between them had finally vanished.

Nothing was holding her back now.

Byakuren nearly stumbled from how fast she moved away from him. He even found himself holding the kebab he had given her a few minutes ago.

Kirishima saw her coming at him with a shy smile. Surprised, he reflexively spread his arms open and welcomed her as she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him.

"Thank you, Kirishima." She mumbled against him.

The red haired boy was definitely taken back by her sudden hug. But his features softened at her thanks.

"Just saying the truth." he was patting her head, making her hidden smile widen.

She hugged him tighter.

 _There really isn't anything to worry about it._

 _I'll just be myself._

 _Yeah._

 _If one person tells me I'm fine like this… then it's alright._

 _I think I just needed to hear it._

"Welcome to my life." Byakuren suddenly said while cooking the meat, "You are now going to experience what I have been experiencing these past five years." he said with a grin. He looked a little excited about the thought of someone else going through his treatment.

Mizuha, while still holding Kirishima, turned her head and looked at Byakuren with a smirk, "Don't worry. I'll make sure you don't feel jealous. I'll crank up my _generosity_ for you." she released Kirishima and patted the redhead's shoulder, "He'll be just fine."

The boy next to her smirked at Byakuren, "Thank you, Hyoumei." he slung an arm around her shoulder.

Mizuha faked a close eyed smile and looked at Kirishima, "You're welcome~"

Byakuren dropped his head, "I figured." he sighed. Then he looked up at the sky dramatically, "I don't even know if I'm your friend. I cry about it every night, y'know?"

Mizuha chortled, "Oh shut up!" he went over to him and pushed his head lightly.

The white haired boy only laughed, "Kidding!" he gave her back her kebab which she happily accepted.

Kirishima, the only one keeping at least one eye on the grill, noticed how another kebab was done cooking. He picked it up and called Mizuha. She looked at him while nipping at the meat the top of her stick.

"Can you give this to Bakugo?" he held out the stick to her.

Mizuha hummed and took the kebab from him. She moved her own away from her mouth and lightly licked her lips before talking, "Where is he?"

Kirishima pointed behind her, she turned to check out where he was pointing, "He's sitting over there at that table."

On the other side of the veranda, there was a big table with a couple of chairs. One of the chairs was occupied by Bakugo who was facing anything but the gathering behind him, probably being his grouchy self.

"This guy isn't even helping." Mizuha remarked with a scowl.

"Still," the redhead rubbed the back of his neck, "I bet he's getting hungry from the smell."

Mizuha tilted her head and stared at Bakugo's back from her spot.

She wasn't too concerned about having to deal with his angry attitude. In fact, she was actually looking forward to how their little exchange would go. Without another word, Mizuha firmly held the stick and went off to go give it to Bakugo.

As Mizuha walked off, the two boys left behind simply watched her leave.

Byakuren held up a fist to his mouth and chuckled into it happily, "Ahh~ It's nice to finally see her like this with other people."

Kirishima nodded in agreement, "I'm glad she's happier too." he beamed, making Byakuren smile from knowing he felt the same as him.

* * *

When Mizuha didn't feel like telling someone she was on their way, she would intentionally stomp with her footsteps to announce her presence. She often did that while going down the stairs when someone was blocking their path. It always worked since they always moved away from her path. However, this time she wasn't planning on letting Bakugo know she was on her way. Instead, she walked towards him as silently as possible. Once she was behind him, she smirked and held the kebab next to his head. She saw his head move to look at it and then he turned around to see who it was.

"Why are you here?"

 _I thought it was freaking obvious. I'm giving you your damn food._

Mizuha looked up at the sky for moment then back at Bakugo with a fake innocent look, "Why, I'm here to talk about the lord." she said sarcastically, "There's food here. Just freakin' take it."

She wasn't expecting a word of thanks from the boy once he took it from her. He turned away from her and continue staring blankly at the water before him.

He just started chewing on a piece of meat he aggressively ripped off from the stick, making her sweat drop.

Mizuha glanced behind her shoulder, checking if Kirishima or Byakuren looked like they needed her for anything. When she saw that they weren't even looking at her, she decided to stay where Bakugo was. She walked around the table and sat on the other side but in a way where she wouldn't block his view and make him deal with looking at her face.

Bakugo's eyes narrowed.

Mizuha ignored him and pulled out her phone, pretending to be occupied with something that wasn't him. She wasn't bothering him. His red eyes observed her for moment, debating whether he should tell her to leave or if he should just get up and find a new spot. But it didn't look like she was going to start being annoying so he let her be.

They both ate in silence, ignoring the cheerful talking of their classmates in the background.

…

…

…

Discretely, Mizuha shifted her eyes away from her screen and upwards to look at Bakugo. Her eyes were mostly hidden thanks to her bangs, giving him no idea that she was staring at him.

He was just sitting there eating the food on the stick.

The memory of Mizuha's first exchange with Bakugo resurfaced.

The sudden alert of someone trespassing on school grounds caused a massive panic in the school. Everyone was fighting their way to get out of the hallway and find an exit. Just before the panic, Mizuha bumped into Bakugo and tried her best to try and not make him hate her like he did with Midoriya. They both got caught in the panic and were literally squished against each other, much to their annoyance. Hearing about how villains could have made it on school campus made her freak out and just grab onto him for support without even thinking. She remembered how he simply spun her around and forced her to just look out the window.

She was able to calm down after that.

He even yelled at her to calm down again during the USJ incident.

Just for the hell of it, she started to try and recall any other encounters she had with him.

She knew that one of them caused her to stress and worry about telling the truth about eavesdropping to Todoroki. There was the time she acted like a confident little kid and told him to 'suck it' during the obstacle race.

And when he helped her last night.

Despite all his yelling and terrible attitude, he's actually not that bad.

A small grin appeared on her lips. She made up her mind. Bakugo was a guy who was obviously determined to be number one. He had a bad personality but still had some good in him. There were moments where he knew when to tone it down.

She saw it. She experienced it.

And she felt a little proud that she did.

It was just too bad she couldn't find out that hidden goodness the same way Kirishima could.

As friends.

"Thanks."

Bakugo, who had his hand under his chin to prop his head up, looked at her and narrowed his eyes again.

"Hah?"

"Thanks for saving me inside the tower."

He paused for a moment and stared at her, as if trying to figure out what she was saying.

Then he scowled, "I didn't save you, you were just a stepping stone for me to reach that asshole, that's all."

She rolled her eyes, "Alright, you can believe that. I'm still thanking you though."

He didn't respond.

Mizuha faked a sigh and propped her head up. She lightly tapped the pointy end of the stick against her bottom lip with a smirk, "Geez." she started, "But I bet you can't deny that you sort of helped me the day the media got onto school campus." she said while looking to the side but then trailed her eyes back at the ash blond haired boy once she finished her sentence.

Bakugo's eye twitched, "Shut up." he took another aggressive bite.

 _Aha!_

She grinned, "You're not that bad." she admitted while leaning forward on the table.

"The hell you trying to say?!" he barked.

"I'm saying that you, Bakugo, are not just a crazy guy who wants to be number one. You can be nice sometimes!"

Bakugo pointed his kebab at her, "We don't speak of it!" He snapped.

Mizuha laughed and lightly pushed away his stick with her own, "I just did."

"Tche, what the hell..." Bakugo leaned back in his seat, "The hell is wrong with you? You're freaking weird."

 _Am I?_

 _Nah._

Mizuha leaned back in her own seat and crossed her legs underneath the table, "Nope." she imitated Byakuren's close eyed smile, "Nothing is wrong. I'm just being myself."

She bit her kebab as Bakugo glowered in front of her.

* * *

It didn't take too long for Kirishima and Byakuren to join them at the table. Byakuren took a seat next to Mizuha while Kirishima sat next to Bakugo.

For once, Mizuha ate as much as she wanted with the amount of food that was delivered to the table by Sero and Kaminari who joined them not too long after.

She was definitely acting like herself.

No restraint.

She was having fun.

That's all the afternoon was: fun.

However, a sudden phone call and text message made everything change for Byakuren and Mizuha.

Byakuren's ringtone interrupted Sero's story and Mizuha's funny text message sound followed right after. Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero looked at the two (Bakugo had left the moment Sero decided to talk, deciding he'd rather take his time to get a soda than listen to some boring story).

Mizuha opened her phone.

Byakuren answered his phone.

 ** _Good news! Kyou-chan finally woke up! We're all awake now!_** **＼** **(≧▽≦)** **／** **Hurrah! Tell Ren if he didn't get the call yet!**

" ** _Your sister just woke up, Ren!"_**

Mizuha and Byakuren's jaw dropped open.

Byakuren dropped his phone while Mizuha simply set her phone back on the table.

They both opened their mouths at the same time and breathed in.

"WHAT?!"

The first one to react physically wasn't Mizuha. Overwhelmed with happiness, Byakuren suddenly threw an arm around his friend's shoulder and held her close to him as he laughed happily. Mizuha yelped at the sudden tug and found her cheek pressed against his own. His face wore one of his best genuine smiles. Her eyes observed how his laughs were slowly followed by tears of joy.

"What a relief! What a relief…!"

Mizuha's face softened at the sight of his tears.

"Eh?! Kyouran…?" Kaminari pointed at his face, at his tears, "Why are you...?"

Mizuha stretched out her trapped arm and wrapped it around Byakuren as he cried, petting his hair softly while rubbing his back with her free hand.

 _Byakuren immediately wrapped his arms around his friend, trying desperately to calm her down. He petted her hair, wiped away her tears, rubbed her back and continued whispering more comforting words._

A smile curled on her face, "It's all over now."

"Yeah, finally…!" Byakuren chuckled, appreciating her gesture.

"Hyoumei?"

Mizuha looked at Kirishima.

"His sister is awake now."

He was the only other person at the table who knew about her past. So, it didn't an eternity to understand what she was saying.

"That's great!" He exclaimed, happy for them.

Suddenly, she remembered something very important. Her hands that were resting on Byakuren immediately pushed him off of her and held him away at arm's length. Confused, he stared at her and tilted his head and asked her what was wrong.

"Dude! Kyougyoku and Shiran were never engaged!" she started shaking him, "Shiran told me that those rings were actually promise rings!"

Byakuren blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

Then his mouth dropped open.

"Are you kidding?!"

"No!"

"What the heck?!"

"I know right?!"

For five years, they both believed that their two siblings were engaged and they made their own families believe the same. Now that they knew the truth, they were both embarrassed by their stupidity.

The white haired boy dropped his head and palmed his face with his hands, groaning.

Kaminari and Sero look between them, lost.

"Um, what's going on?" asked Sero, voicing out the main question going through both of their minds.

Mizuha looked at him and sweat dropped, "Both of our siblings are out of a coma and we feel stupid for thinking that they were engaged." she explained.

Byakuren sat back in his seat and stared absently at the table, recalling the memory of him telling people that his sister had a fiancé.

He cringed.

"Geez… someone drown away my embarrassment…"

Hearing him say that, a smirk curled on Mizuha's lips.

"You up for it?"

With a pout, he looked at her, "Up for what?"

"To drown your embarrassment of course!"

…

…

…

He nodded.

Without wasting another second, they both stood up and their phones to Kirishima and Kaminari, telling them to start video recording what they were going to do next. When the blond and the redhead tried asking why, the two friends were already walking away from their table. Once they made it to their spot, they stood next to each other and held hands. Byakuren and Mizuha both looked at the camera and did silly grins.

"BLEH!" they made a goofy face.

They both tilted backwards.

And fell into the water.

Bakugo was confused about the situation when he came back. Everyone was cracking up like carefree idiots.

* * *

After drying off thanks to Mizuha's Quirk, she excused herself from the table, saying she needed to refill her cup. She walked off to the closest table. Mizuha set down her Styrofoam cup on the table and looked for anything juice related. She was going to stay away from anything that screamed fizzy drink. She spotted two big boxes that each had two different flavors. It was apple and orange, she picked the latter. With her nimble fingers, she easily twisted the cap and removed it from the box.

"M-Mineta-kun?!"

"AHH! Mineta! Stop hogging all the food!"

"Mineta-kun! You have to share with the class!"

"You guys were too _sloooow_ ~ This is all mine!"

Mizuha turned her head and saw the shorter student that was about to run past her, carrying several kebab in both hands. Iida and Ashido were chasing after him, leaving Midoriya who didn't know what to do.

Her body reacted faster than her brain.

Both her hands swooped down and took the surplus of kebabs trapped in Mineta's hands. She made sure to leave at least one for him as he continued running off. He didn't even notice that Mizuha had taken away most of his food.

Iida and Ashido skidded to a stop in front of Mizuha, both presenting their thanks when she handed them the kebabs.

"Ehhh?!" Mineta shouted from afar, noticing the absence of his food, "Not fair!"

"Good job in stopping that little jerk!"

Iida ran past them after handing the sticks to Midoriya, he was most likely planning on scolding Mineta after catching up to him.

Mizuha shrugged, "Nah, it's no big deal." she dismissed before rapidly pouring herself some orange juice.

While she was closing the juice box, Ashido asked her where she was going off to. Mizuha merely pointed at the table that was at least fifteen feet away from them, a table with guys.

It was no secret that Mizuha looked more comfortable with socializing with guys considering how well she got a long with Byakuren. It was so obvious. She spent most of her time with Byakuren and ate lunch with him and Kirishima. And in reality, that was the truth. It was in her nature to be better at socializing with guys than with girls. It was always like that, even before the incident. She always had more guy friends.

With a grin, the pink haired girl grabbed the taller girl's wrist and started dragging her in the opposite direction.

Mizuha looked flabbergasted when she found herself getting pulled along, "H-Huh?! W-Wait a minute! What's going on?!" she turned her head to look at her table. She started waving her free arm at them, hoping to catch their attention to make them see she looked like she needed some saving.

Kaminari was the first to notice her pleading look. He called Byakuren's attention and pointed at the girl asking for help with her eyes and her silent facial expressions.

The white haired boy noticed her.

But then he simply waved at her.

Mizuha's mouth dropped open.

She whipped her head back towards Ashido and noticed that they were approaching the table that all the other girls were at.

"You need to have some girl time, Hyoumei! And right now, is the perfect time!" she said with a huge smile, "And I need to confirm something!" she muttered.

Mizuha was at a lost for words.

Uraraka, who was conversing with Asui, noticed Mizuha getting dragged by Ashido and was quick to smile.

"Ah! Hyoumei!"

Hearing the brunette say the aloof girl's name made the others turn their heads.

 _Er…_

 _Oh geez._

…

…

…

Mizuha sat in between Uraraka and Jiro.

After Ashido had successfully dragged her to the girl's table, the girls were more than happy to make some room for Mizuha. Uraraka even brought an extra chair for her, making Mizuha unable to run away and head back to the boys' table now that the brunette did something for her.

As Mizuha silently sipped her juice from her Styrofoam cup, she was suddenly startled. The pink haired girl that dragged her to the table and that was also sitting across from her just decided to loom over her from the other side of the table. Shocked, Mizuha's eyes enlarged as she shrunk backwards into her seat with her lips still on the edge of her cup.

Ashido suddenly pointed at her, "Hyoumei!"

Mizuha pointed at herself, "Me?"

The pink girl planted both her palms on the table and kept leaning across it eagerly, "You have to tell us what's going on between you and Kyouran."

Jiro sighed, "I knew it."

Mizuha blinked once. Twice. Thrice.

"Hah?"

Mizuha looked at Jiro for an explanation.

"She saw you coddling Kyouran a few minutes ago. So, she's convinced you guys got something going on."

The platinum blonde haired girl nodded slowly, _I guess that **would** give people the wrong idea? I think? _

Then she sweat dropped. She remembered that this topic was already discussed at the beginning of their semester, _She's still on that?_

Uraraka looked at her, "Do you like Kyouran?" she asked curiously.

"Well, yeah—"

"Aha!" Ashido exclaimed she pointed her finger at her. Mizuha could see the stars in her eyes.

Mizuha stared at the finger in between her eyes. Then she looked at Ashido in confusion, "I like him as a friend." she continued, "That spiky marshmallow is like a brother to me."

Ashido pouted and lowered her finger. She started sulking a little, "No romance?"

"Nope. You can even ask him. We are literally like family."

This made the other girl finally settle down and sit back down in her seat, "Aww… my ship. But you guys look so good together."

"I guess that's because we've been friends for a long time? We've known each other since elementary school."

"That explains why you two are so close!" Hagakure exclaimed the obvious.

Yaoyorozu peered at her from the side, "I think it's nice that you and Kyouran are very close."

"You have a good friendship." agreed Tsuyu.

"Thanks." she smiled a little.

Then she sensed the dark haired girl next to her looking at her. She turned her head to look at Jiro and immediately noticed the smirk on her lips.

"What about you and Todoroki?" she whispered.

Mizuha's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically, "Oh, come on! Don't give her material to gossip about!" she whispered back.

"You came here with him, right?" Jiro's eyebrows raised as she gave her a look.

"The boy had an extra invitation so he gave it to me!" she defended.

She was going to make extra sure she never let it slip that she was sort of sharing a room with him.

 _Nuh-huh. No more stupid gossiping about me anymore, please!_

"What are you guys whispering about?" Ashido asked, suspicious. Her love-senses were tingling.

Mizuha waved her hand dismissively, "Nothing." she answered calmly.

As if her nervousness suddenly became non-existent, she grinned sheepishly and asked everyone what they thought of I-Island and what they've been doing during their stay, changing the subject successfully. Everyone was more than happy to share their stories with each other. She had to make sure to half-lie about her story because she was too late to realize that she dug her own grave since her stay was mostly spent with Todoroki. She couldn't exactly lie in front of Yaoyorozu, Uraraka and Jiro.

Thankfully, she was a good liar.

As they all exchanged their own stories about their stay, including the stories that happened last night in the tower, Mizuha found herself forgetting about the fact that she felt a little out of place among the girls. Talking about herself and hearing the others talk about themselves made things seem a little easier.

She was stepping further out of her comfort zone, widening it.

 _Ashido beamed, bouncing in her step, "The mysteriously distant girl finally opens up!"_

 _Mizuha opened her mouth to explain but then narrowed her eyes as Ashido's words reeled in her mind. She looked at her pink classmate with confusion written all over her face._

 _"Mysteriously distant...?" she inquired._

 _Uraraka laughed sheepishly, "Ashido came up with that name..."_

 _Midoriya, Kirishima, Byakuren and Mizuha stared at the other girls curiously._

 _Ashido pouted, "Well it's true! Hyoumei is well... she's as quiet as Todoroki and she's just as invisible as Hagakure. One second, she's around and the next she disappears! Don't deny it! You do it all the time. You kinda make it impossible to talk to you with the way you keep your distance..."_

Not anymore. She wasn't going to do that anymore.

Mizuha let a small smile appear on her lips as she watched Hagakure gesticulate her clothes as she told them about her own experience.

* * *

It was 6 AM.

Mizuha watched the plane take off from her seat next to the window. Todoroki was once again sitting by her side, watching the view from the window as well. They could see the ocean's waters below them, shining thanks to the morning sunlight.

They were finally returning home.

She faced her classmate, "Todoroki, did you enjoy coming to I-Island?" asked Mizuha, curiously.

"Aside from the tower incident, I actually did." he admitted, "What about you?"

Mizuha grinned and leaned back against her chair, "This is trip I won't ever regret taking. The exposition was nice, yeah. But I got something out of it."

"And what's that?"

"You'll see." Mizuha grinned, "It's bound to show soon." she promised.

Then she lifted up her right hand and started shaking her wrist until her sweater's sleeve covered her whole hand. She placed it in front of her mouth and yawned into it. She was tired.

With little tears in the corner of her eyes, she looked at him sleepily, "By the way, do you mind if I rest my head on your shoulder?" she asked without hesitation, "I mean, I bet it'll just fall on you sooner or later while I sleep."

... So that's what it was.

 _"Hyoumei."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"Next time, just say it."_

 _The girl pouted, "Easier said than done. You haven't been holding back your tongue for... for like forever." she said, "Plus it's even harder if I overthink about if whatever I'm asking will just bother the other person." she rested her head against the wall of the train._

He could see it.

He could see that she wasn't holding back as much as she used to now. It was only now that he realized that she was, he just didn't see it at first. This was probably what she was so determined about a few days ago when they got on the plane together. She was determined to step out and push aside her shyness, and just be herself.

Smiling a little, he permitted her to lay her head on his shoulder.

With a small silent cheer, she did so.

She reached for his hand that was currently resting on his lap and patted it twice softly, "Thanks." she said before plugging her earphones into her ears.

While she searched for a lullaby on her phone, the boy observed her from above.

He had to admit, learning more about her was quite interesting.

* * *

 **And that concludes the I-Island Arc! (The final events of this arc were obviously inspired by the ending cards during the movie's credits!)**


	11. Chapter 11: Training Camp I

From her spot underneath the shade, Mizuha stared at the sky just above the roof. Under her head was her sweater that was rolled up in a way to prop up her head. Her hands were resting on top of her rising and descending chest. Her slip-on shoes were nicely placed in front of her feet.

She was on the school's roof where the pool was.

The whole class was there.

To think, that an hour ago she was simply being a couch potato at home playing video games. She wasn't sure if she was glad or annoyed that Byakuren came into her house.

He came inside her house with her mother. The boy had bumped into her while she was on her way back from grocery shopping and he was more than willing to help her carry the bags. She assumed that Byakuren told her mom that he was planning on dragging her out of the house.

After much persistent pestering, she finally gave and got dressed.

Today, she was wearing a blue t-shirt and brown shorts that reached just below her knees. This was not her first choice of attire. She was actually planning on wearing the same shirt but with a sweater and jeans… until her whole family, including Byakuren started calling her out for it and repeatedly told her to go change into something lighter. She agreed under the condition that she at least brought a light sleeves sweater because she needed a hood to shield herself from the sun.

The girls asked permission to come up for sunbathing while the boys used it for endurance training.

She chose to do some shadebathing instead since she wasn't a fan of staying out too long in the sun.

Getting fresh air and enjoying the breeze under the shade was more than enough for Mizuha.

No music playing in her ears.

Just the sound of the girls laughing and the boys training with water splashing around.

It was peaceful.

Just as she was about to close her eyes and immerse herself in the gentle breeze, an upside-down face appeared in front of her.

"Yo." It was Kaminari with a beam smiling.

Mizuha controlled herself before sat up too fast and smashed her head against his. She swallowed her sudden fright.

"Hello, Kaminari." she greeted.

"Why are you over here?" he moved his head up to look across the pool where the girls were playing, "Don't you want to go play with the other girls over there?"

His head movement made a few droplets of water from the pool to land on her face.

"Nah, there's too much sun over there." she replied before sitting up and turning around to look at him, "I don't wanna get dark."

The blond looked at her exposed skin and tilted his head, "It won't be so bad to get in some sun. You're pale."

Mizuha scoffed, "Yeah, and how do you think I became this pale?" she lied back down on the ground, "I spend most my time during summer vacation to just sit at home, away from the sun."

Kaminari sweat dropped, "I don't think that's good…"

Their attention from the subject was pulled away with Iida asking if they wanted to see which one of the boys could swim 50 meters the fastest. The idea immediately caught Kaminari's interest and Mizuha's curiosity. The other girls were also interested to see who would win. Mizuha left the shade while placing her hood atop her head.

Mineta, Tokoyami, Koda, Bakugo and Kaminari were the first ones on the platforms and Yaoyorozu was the referee.

"Get set…"

She blew her whistle.

Bakugo started _flying_ across the pool.

Mizuha started cracking up.

He landed oh-so-gracefully at the other end and pointed at the class, "How was that, you extras?!"

"What do you mean "How was that"?!" Sero asked loudly.

"You didn't even swim!" Kirishima shouted.

"It's freestyle!"

"Ooooooh geez." Mizuha said while laughing, "I gotta record ALL of this." she pulled out her phone and immediately started recording the next ones.

Sero, Aoyama, Todoroki, Satou, Kirishima.

 _Freaking Todoroki sliding with his ice and poor Sero got knocked back by Aoyama!_

Now it was Iida, Midoriya, Ojiro, Shoji and Byakuren.

A smirk appeared on her lips.

Yaoyorozu blew the whistle again.

She looked up from her phone and started running next to Byakuren who was flying in the air, her sweater following after her like some sort of cape.

"HEY! BYAKUREN! YO! YO! YO! HEEEEEY! LOOK AT MEEEEE!"

The moment he glanced at her, he got distracted and fell into the water after loosing focus on his Quirk.

Mizuha spluttered out a laugh, "OH MY GOD! PFFFT!" she ran back to her spot next to Jiro who was also laughing.

Despite falling into the water, Byakuren finished his lane but came out looking like an unhappy camper. He marched over to her and pointed at her, "That was unfair!"

Mizuha stuck her tongue out, "I don't care!" she continued laughing.

"Hey, can you send me that?" Jiro asked next to her, still smiling from laughing.

This caught Mizuha off-guard. Her eyes widened for a moment as she registered what the shorter girl just asked her. Then she smiled and nodded, "Sure, just give me your number later and I'll send it to you!"

Now, she was feeling giddy.

Mizuha returned her attention to the final race. Todoroki, Midoriya and Bakugo were standing on the platforms since they were the winners of first three races. Iida was now the ref for their race.

"Then, the 50-m freestyle final will begin now!"

"Go, Bakugo!"

"Don't kill the other guys!"

"Todoroki, don't lose!"

"Do your best, Deku!"

"Everyone, fight!"

Iida raised his hand, "On your marks… get set…"

Mizuha used two fingers to zoom in her phone's camera.

Iida blew the whistle.

They jumped off…

… only to drop into the water.

Confused, Mizuha tilted her head and lowered her phone.

"It's 5 PM." it was their teacher's voice.

Everyone looked at the door and saw him walking towards them, his Quirk activated. He was the one who erased their Quirks.

"Your pool use time has now ended. Hurry up and go home."

"No way!" Kaminari groaned.

Sero pointed at the pool, where the three boys were still in, "We just got to the good part!"

Aizawa's eyes flashed, "Did you say something?"

The whole class answered negatively in unison. With that, their teacher told them once more to hurry and leave as he walked back inside. The class already knew that they should be out of there if he came back to check. Mizuha sighed and ended her recording, disappointed she couldn't catch anymore ridiculous attempts to 'swim' across.

She walked back to her spot underneath the shade to go put on her shoes.

Suddenly, her sweater was pulled off her head and a hand took her shoes away from her reach.

She blinked.

Then she found herself getting pulled back downwards. Her legs were pulled up, making her body tilt backwards faster towards the ground, but arms slipped underneath her own and another pair of arms locked themselves underneath her legs. She looked up and saw Kirishima grinning down at her, and when she looked in front of her, she saw Kaminari doing the same. Byakuren slipped next to the blond boy and pulled off her socks from her feet.

They both started walking.

 _WHAT?! WHERE ARE THEY TAKING ME?!_

"Wait–!" Mizuha trashed around, "What's going on?!" she asked.

She spotted Byakuren holding her phone, that he somehow manage to take from her and he was recording her.

"This is revenge for earlier!" He clarified the situation, giving her a good idea of where she was heading next.

"YOU'RE SO FREAKING PETTY! Kirishima! Kaminari! Come on, put me down!"

"Nah, I think you should at least get in the water once like the rest of us!" The readhead laughed.

"You could use some sun, Hyoumei!" Kaminari reminded with a huge grin.

She made futile attempts to try and call out for help from her other classmates, but they just stood there and smiled. Even when she mouthed 'help me' to Todoroki, he just chuckled in amusement.

Mizuha stopped trashing around, resigning to her fate.

She sighed, secretly enjoying the situation.

They threw her into the water.

* * *

It was almost time for their summer break to start.

"So… Given what happened… we're on the lookout for the Villains."

Mizuha, who was slouching a little in her seat, looked up and gave her teacher her full attention once the word 'Villain' was spoken.

"And we've had to cancel our usual accommodations at the last minute. We won't reveal our actual destination until the day we depart."

"HUH!?"

"But I already told my parents."

"That's precisely the point…" Yaoyorozu said from her seat in the back of the class, "The school can't control who learns what or how."

"As long as we're not canceling the whole trip altogether."

Mizuha placed her fist close to her mouth as she thought about it. The USJ incident most likely happened because the villains knew where they were. The attack was planned so carefully and it was well coordinated. The only way the villains could have known where they were that day was probably because someone had given them the information. Perhaps to reduce the risk of more information reaching their ears, they decided that this was the best option.

"You."

Mizuha glanced at Bakugo, who was talking to Midoriya without even looking at him.

"Broken bones or not, you should have killed him."

Mizuha sweatdropped, "… We're not allowed to use our Quirks in public." she said loud enough for the ash blonde boy to hear.

Bakugo scoffed, "Do I look like I care? Just break those freaking bones."

The girl rolled her eyes, "Of course _you_ wouldn't care… you use your Quirk in public all the time." she muttered, "Crazy."

"What was that?!"

"Nothing."

* * *

For a change, Mizuha was walking with someone else to eat lunch. She was walking with Ashido, Yaoyorozu and Jiro. The first was cheerfully talking about how excited she was to be going to the training camp. The other two were equally excited but were showing it more calmly.

Mizuha was also looking forward to it. She was excited to have a little fun after working on her Quirk.

The girl noticed her teacher walking not too far ahead, walking with his hands in his pockets as usual.

She tilted her head.

There was a student walking next to him.

 _…Isn't that…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _"I came to see what the famous Class A was like, but you all just seem pretty arrogant." a student said as he made his way to the front._

 _In the front was now standing a male student with dark purple hair who had heavy bags under his eyes. Mizuha narrowed her eyes at his next comment, "Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned."_

 _…_

…

…

It was that student who went up to the front of the crowd in front of their class before the Sports Festival started. And the same guy who went up against Midoriya and lost.

 _It was Shinsou Hitoshi, wasn't it? A general studies student. Why was he with Aizawa-sensei?_

She simply watched the two disappear once they turned at a corner, leaving her with her a question that wasn't answered.

The day ended with a typical ceremony that marked the end of their first semester. It was those ceremonies that had the principal giving speeches and announcements to all the students of the school. They recalled past events of the semester. The usual.

Mizuha didn't really pay attention though.

It was pretty boring.

* * *

Finally, the time came for their summer training camp to begin. All the students of Class A met up in front of school, where buses were waiting to drive them to their secret destination.

"Eh? What's this? There are people in Class A taking extra lessons!?"

Mizuha lazily turned her head towards the blond annoyance of Class B.

It turned out that Class B was also going on the Training Camp, which makes sense since they were also a Hero Class.

"Does that mean some of you failed!? Isn't that weird? Isn't that weird?! Even though Class A is supposed to be way better than Class B? How can that be?!"

A hand landed behind his head. Kendo's hand. He stopped and instantly dropped unconscious. Everyone sweatdropped at the sight while Mizuha's eyes lit up. That hand chop seemed like something that could come in handy if someone pissed her off.

"Sorry!" Kendo grinned sheepishly before dragging him away.

It was then that the rest of Class A was taking notice of Class B's presence. Mizuha noticed a short maroon haired girl waving happily towards her, she clearly excited to be going on this training camp. She waved back at her with her lips curving a little. She still needed to practice smiling.

"A bountiful babe buffet…!"

Mizuha and Kirishima looked at Mineta… who was salivating.

The girl cringed in disgust, "… this creep." she muttered.

"That's about enough out of you." said Kirishima.

After that, both classes got inside their respective busses with their homeroom teachers. Mizuha was quick to grab Byakuren and stick to him like glue. They sat behind Kirishima and Kaminari, and in front of Midoriya and Iida.

The bus started moving.

And at that same moment, she felt Byakuren pull her close to him as he held up his smartphone in front of them. Knowing what was going on, she quickly started fighting against him.

"What are you doing?!"

"Taking a picture with you~"

"I can see that! I'm asking you why you're taking one and you know it!"

 _SNAP!_

Byakuren gave her a close-eyed smile that screamed victory. He moved away from her as she got up from her seat and tried taking his phone away. She was practically on top of him, shouting at him.

"Hyoumei-kun! Seats are meant to be sat in! Sit down!" Iida's voice boomed behind her chair.

Kirishima peeked behind his seat and was surprised to be greeted at the sight of Byakuren getting folded in his seat by Mizuha.

"Give it to me!"

"Mizu-chan! Chill! I'm just sending it to my sister!"

This made Mizuha cease her choke hold on the white haired boy.

Kaminari, who was kneeling and looking at the duo over his seat, laughed.

"It's just a picture."

Mizuha sat back in her seat and frowned, "Yeah, well… I don't find myself photogenic." she crossed her arms.

Suddenly, her phone started ringing.

 _Shiran_ (」゜ロ゜)」

"Why the heck is he calling…?" she mumbled to herself.

She answered the call and immediately put her brother on speaker, not caring if the others were going to hear.

"Yes?" she answered, flatly.

 **"Mizuha! I saw that picture that Ren just sent to Kyou-chan! That means you're already heading to the training camp's destination, right?!"**

"Why is he yelling?" Kirishima sweatdropped.

"You'd probably think it was on speaker when it wasn't…" Kaminari muttered.

"Why are you so loud?" Mizuha sighed.

 **"Be careful out in the woods, okay?! Beware of bears, stay away from beehives, stick close with your class and listen to Aizawa!"**

"Um…"

"Bears?" Byakuren repeated, chuckling.

Other students around her started listening to Shiran's loud voice.

 **"Socialize with the other girls in your class—OH SHIT! Wait! Are you guys going to be together even at night?! Like when you're sleeping?!"** Mizuha slowly directed her thumb towards the red circular button on her screen, **"Is there any weirdos I should know about—?!"**

She ended the call and tucked her phone away in her pocket.

A couple of students who heard her brother were chuckling.

"Your brother seems to care a lot about you." said Uraraka, not too far away from her.

Mizuha leaned forward in her seat and angled herself so she could see the brunette, "Really? I find it too much." she admitted, "I doubt there are any bears."

Ashido turned around in her seat in the same manner as Kaminari, "I wonder how he'd react if you told him Mineta was a weirdo!" she grinned, imagining Shiran's outburst on the phone.

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up in the air and she looked away, "Oof, I don't know how well he'd take that." she chuckled before sitting properly in her seat.

Byakuren did another fox smile and laughed behind his hand, "I'll bet he'd be running after our bus with everything he had."

* * *

An hour later, the bus stopped.

Aizawa pushed himself out of his seat and looked at all of his students, "We're taking a break. Everyone step outside."

Mizuha, who was sitting back against her window with her legs on Shiran's lap, turned her head and looked out the glass behind her. She tilted her head in confusion, where did they stop? It looked like the middle of nowhere. All she saw was trees below with a couple of mountains and some random car parked near their bus.

In a single line, they all stepped out of the bus.

Kaminari stretched his arms behind his head, "Finally taking a break, huh?" he moaned, enjoying the pleasant feeling of his muscles stretching.

"Hold on… what kind of rest stop is this?" Kirishima looked around, confused.

"Right? And where's Class B?" Jiro asked.

"I gotta pee!"

Mizuha jogged over to where the protective rail was and looked down.

 _Yeah… why did we stop here? There's like… nothing around here._

"There's no point in stopping without a reason." their homeroom teacher assured.

The girl walked back to where the rest of her class was rounded up, only to be startled when the doors of the random car opened. Two figures stepped out of the vehicle. Two women.

Mizuha spotted a child stepping out of the car.

"Lock on with these sparkling gazes!"

"Stingingly cute and cat-like!"

"We're the Wild Wild Pussycats!"

Mizuha couldn't help it. She cringed. But it was obvious that the two were first one was a brunette with red markings that resembled cat whiskers and she was dressed in a red outfit. The other one was a blonde with two blue dots on her cheeks and she was dressed in blue.

"These are Pro-Heroes who will be working with us during the camp, the Pussycats." Aizawa explained.

Mizuha immediately turned her head towards Midoriya, she had a feeling he was about to geek out knowing how he was such a Hero fanboy.

She was right.

"They're a four-person Hero team who set up a joint agency! They're a veteran team specializes in mountain rescue operations! This year will be their twelfth workin—"

Mizuha was shocked at how fast the blonde rushed at Midoriya. She slapped her hand over his mouth as if trying to hide the biggest secret, "We're 18 at heart!"

Mizuha did her best to shut her mouth tightly, suppressing a smile. She was so tempted to finish Midoriya's sentence to see what kind of reaction the older lady would have. But knowing how she was included in helping their training camp, she wasn't interested in training twice as hard if she got on that woman's bad side.

"We own this whole stretch of land here," informed the brunette while pointing at the said land, "You will all be staying at the foot of that mountain."

"So far!"

"Huh…? Then why'd we stop halfway…?"

They were all starting to have concerns about the next few seconds that were about to occur. They began muttering nervously with each other.

"No way…"

Sero laughed nervously, "Why don't we get back to the bus, huh?" he turned towards the bus, "Fast."

Everyone else was quick to agree.

"Screw that!" Mizuha was the first to start bolting back to the bus.

 _I did not sign up to take a long walk in the freaking forest in the middle of nowhere!_

Everyone else started running back to the bus.

"It's 9:30 AM right now. If you're fast… maybe around noon?"

"Get back to the bus! Hurry!"

"Kitties who don't make it by 12:30 won't get any lunch!"

Mizuha looked up and saw the blonde Pussycat jumping over their heads. She skidded to a stop once she saw her blocking their path with a grin. Seeing the blonde woman nearly made Mizuha run the other way, back where she came.

The ground beneath her shoes started rumbling. The earth started shifting, and before she knew it she was being swept away by the ground.

The Pro-Hero threw them off the cliff, dropping them down into the forest.

Everyone was screaming from the terrifying situation. Mizuha;however, couldn't even scream from how shocked she was. As she felt her the earth drop her body, she felt the wind rush past her.

She was falling now.

Mizuha used her Quirk to create a small ramp and ease her fall. It wasn't perfect since she was pretty flustered but it did the job. She ended up rolling over on the ground a couple of times.

The platinum blonde haired girl spat out the earth she accidentally welcomed into her mouth.

"Hey! Since it's our private territory, feel free to use your Quirks! You've got three hours to reach the facility on foot! After getting through… the Beast's Forest!"

"… the Beasts' Forest?" repeated Midoriya, alarmed by the first part of the name.

"What's with that name that sounds like it came straight out of _Dragon Quest?!" Kaminari exclaimed._

Kirishima brushed off the dirt on his uniform, "It's no use complaining. We just have to go."

Mizuha watched as Mineta zoomed past her, into the forest.

 _Huh?_

Mizuha squinted her eyes.

 _Is it just me or is there something moving in there?_

 _… She did say Beasts' Forest… right?_

 _… IS THERE LITERALLY A BEAST IN THERE?!_

A huge monster was the first thing that greeted Mineta once it stepped out of the shadows of the forest.

Koda quickly tried to calm down the beast with his Quirk, to no avail. The beast aimed one of its front legs at Mineta, who did nothing but stand and stare at it. Thankfully, Midoriya was quick enough to move away the shorter student out of harm's way. If it wasn't responding to Koda's Quirk, then it wasn't an animal. It was not alive.

... It was made of earth.

It was probably the blonde Pussycat who was controlling the beast judging how she manipulated the earth earlier.

Her onyx eyes instantly detected movement in the shadows somewhere deeper in the forest.

 _We're not getting there in three hours that's for sure._

Mizuha ran inside the forest. The first beast noticed her approaching and tried to swing at her too, but she was fast enough to roll out of the way and run past it. She was going to leave that one to the others. The other beast she had spotted was running towards her now that she was getting closer to it.

She stopped in her tracks and dragged one foot back. Her left hand started emitting water. Her right hand rested above it before rapidly extending her right arm to her right side, making the water stretch in that direction and splitting at the end of it. Then she froze it, creating a type of scythe made of ice.

As the beast drew closer, she clenched her teeth swung horizontal while holding it backwards, effectively slicing it in half.

Its upper body dropped onto the ground with a loud thud.

She breathed out heavily and shattered her ice, deciding it would probably be best to not use such a dangerous type of ice creation when her other classmates were around. She wouldn't want to cause an accident.

Mizuha turned around and flinched when she saw Midroiya utterly destroy the first beast with a single punch. Then she joined back with the rest of her classmates who started entering the forest.

Apparently, Todoroki, Bakugo and Iida were also the first ones to react.

"You guys defeated that beast in an instant?"

"You did it!"

"You did it all on your own, Hyoumei!" Uraraka exclaimed, amazed.

Mizuha rubbed the back of her neck.

Byakuren, who stood next to her, looked worried, "There's more, isn't there…?"

"As expected of Bakugo!"

The ash blond haired boy kept his eyes in front of him, narrowing them, "Not yet!"

Another beast came out of the ground and jumped into the air. It wasn't landing. It was flying.

Everyone looked above them, trying to figure out where the beast was above the tree leaves. By the sound of it, it seemed like there was more than one flying above their heads.

"If we don't make it to the facility by noon, then we don't get lunch!"

"Then," Yaoyorozu stepped up, "we'll have to get through here and take the shortest route."

With the time limit set and their desire to make it for lunch, they were all determined to get through.

"Alright," Iida nodded, "Let's go, Class A!"

"Yeah!"

…

…

…

Mizuha frowned, "I still don't think we'll make it in three hours…" she mumbled.

* * *

 **We jump into the Training Camp Arc! There will be much more interactions between Mizuha and her classmates now that she's more comfortable!**


	12. Chapter 12: Training Camp II

5:20 PM.

Dead.

She felt dead.

Mizuha dragged her shoes as she walked. Her face was clearly expressing her exhaustion. She was cold, sweating and she was REALLY thirsty.

During the long hours spent in the forest, she realized that she probably wasn't quite up to date with her Quirk than she realized. She could manipulate water in its different states, but she started to realize that it took a lot more concentration and effort for gas and liquid. Quirks were like another muscle in the body, if you didn't train it then it'll simply grow weak overtime. Two-thirds of her Quirk was in great need of training.

She was disappointed in herself.

She needed to get familiar with her Quirk once again and learn what she hadn't bothered to learn five years ago.

 _Better late than never, I guess._

The lodge was just up ahead.

"They're finally here!"

Everyone was panting, groaning from the exhaustion as they emerged from the shadows.

Mizuha set her eyes on a specific spot on the ground and marched to it. Once she made it, she no longer cared about the uniform she was wearing and dropped down on her knees before falling onto her side. Kirishima dropped down on his rear near her head and propped himself up with a hand behind him.

"What do you mean, three hours?!"

"That's the time it would've taken _us_. Sorry!" the brunette said with a smile.

Satou sweatdropped, "You were trying to boas about how much better you are?" he asked in disbelief, "That's mean…"

Kirishima threw his head back, "I'm hungry…! I'm gonna die…!"

The blonde giggled behind her paw-gloves, "But honestly, I thought it would take even longer. You guys didn't have as hard a time beating my earth beasts as I thought you would."

She lowered her hands. "You guys are great… Especially…" she pointed one finger at Mizuha and another at Iida, Bakugo, Todoroki and Midoriya, "… you five!"

Mizuha narrowed her eyes, too tired to speak.

"Were you able to act without hesitation because of your experience?" she asked them curiously before licking her lips as she stared at the boys.

"But as for you boys…" she suddenly leaped towards the guys, "I'm looking forward to where you'll be in three years! I call dibs!"

She started spitting on them… as if to mark her property.

Mizuha cringed. "Ew."

"Hey, I've been wondering…" Midoriya looked at the child that was standing not too far from the brunette. "That boy. Whose child is that?"

"Oh, not one of ours. He's my cousin's kid." answered the brunette. "Come on, Kota. Greet everyone. You'll be spending a week with these guys, after all."

Mizuha's eyes followed Midoriya as he walked up to the child with a friendly smile.

"Oh, um, I'm Midoriya from U.A High School's Hero Course." he introduced himself before lowering himself and holding out a hand to Kota, "Nice to meet you."

Kota stood still for a moment as he stared at the hand in front of him.

Then, he went and punched Midoriya right crotch.

Mizuha heard all the other male students on her side hiss for Midoriya's pain while she stifled a laugh.

The green haired boy froze and gasped in pain, turning white. Iida ran over to Midoriya and caught him just in time as he fell forward.

"You brute of a nephew!" Iida called out. "Why would you do that to Midoriya's scrotum?!"

Kota looked back and glared at Iida. "I don't intend to hang out with guys who want to become Heroes!" he spat.

"'Intend'? Just how old are you?!"

Mizuha nodded against the floor, impressed with the boy's vocabulary.

"Precocious brat." smirked Bakugo.

Todoroki's eyes shifted towards the ash blond haired boy. "Isn't he kind of like you?"

This immediately sparked a reaction from Bakugo. Mizuha wondered how he still had the energy to raise his voice after the eventful time they just had.

"Enough with this charade." Aizawa spoke up, "Get your stuff off the bus. Once you've put your bags in your rooms, we'll have dinner in the cafeteria. After that, you'll bathe and go to sleep." He instructed, "We'll start for real tomorrow. Now, move quickly."

* * *

After picking up their things and dropping them into their room, the girls were about to head to the cafeteria together, until they noticed someone was missing.

Jiro took a few steps backwards and peeked into the girls' room. Somewhere in a dark corner of the room was Mizuha curled up under a sweater she pulled out of her bag.

"Hyoumei? Aren't you coming?"

The other girls also looked inside the room.

Mizuha, who had her back facing them, rolled over and rested on her stomach while placing her chin on the floor, "I'm tiiiired." drawled Mizuha, "I'm too lazy to even eat." she said before turning her head and resting her cheek on the floor.

Uraraka sweatdropped at her lazy behavior, "Seriously?"

Yaoyorozu sighed and shook her head, "Nonsense, Hyoumei. You need to eat."

Mizuha grinned, feeling a little loopy again, "I could just starve myself to sleep and I wouldn't feel hungry at all~"

Then, Hagakure and Ashido came marching into the room. Confused, Mizuha lazily looked at the two and yelped when she felt them roll her on her back. Then she saw pink hand grab her right hand and felt another on her left, they both pulled her up from the floor and ushered her out of the room.

"I was kidding… come on." Mizuha laughed softly and tried tugging her hands out of the two girls' hands, only to realize that their hold was like an iron grip. They weren't about to trust her word knowing how she could be such a magician once they took their eyes off her.

"We'll let you go once we sit!" Ashido and Hagakure said in unison.

"You'll sleep much better after the bath and a good meal, Hyoumei-chan." Tsuyu said next to her.

The word 'bath' seemed to have completely woken her up. Suddenly, very conscious about the fact that she was going to be exposed. When was the last time she went to a public bath? Probably before her brother's five year coma.

Mizuha tilted her head and nodded a little, "I suppose so."

…

…

…

"Thanks for the food!"

Everyone was chowing down.

Many were already feeling rejuvenated while some were choking from the amount of food they were stuffing into their mouth.

"So good!"

"Fish, meat, veggies… what a feast!"

"Oi, Sero! Pass me some tempura!"

"I could keep eating forever!"

Mizuha was sitting between Byakuren and Jiro, and she chewing on some tempura and slurping up some noodles rapidly. The two Pussycats were distributing plates numerous plates for all the students. They were receiving compliments and thanks for their food. As the plates continued being delivered, Byakuren occasionally would snag more than what he needed and dumped the surplus in Mizuha's plate. Not that she minded, he was getting what he remembered was her favorites. Mizuha found herself grinning at the sight of her classmates enjoying their food together. Especially Kirishima and Kaminari, they were literally crying as they ate.

"Oh? You girls just got a normal-sized room?"

"Are the boys in a big room?" Jiro asked Sero curiously.

"I wanna see!" Ashido said from the other table behind them, making them both turn to face her, "Hey, can I go see it later?"

"Sure, come whenever!"

Mizuha turned her attention to Byakuren, who was eating like a maniac yet… in an elegantl.

"So? How's Kyougyoku?" she asked before bringing her bowl of soup to her mouth and tilting it.

He swallowed his food. "She should be up and walking by now just like Shiran." then he sweatdropped, "Unlike Shiran, she didn't cry tears of joy at the sight of me… she started demanding that I ask the doctors to release her from the hospital."

Mizuha jolted. She nearly spluttered out her soup at Kirishima who was sitting in front of her. The girl lowered her bowl and covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she suppressed any laughs that might cause her to choke as she swallowed her soup.

"Seriously? Wow, she _really_ hates hospitals, huh?"

Byakuren nodded his head with slightly enlarged eyes.

Kyougyoku Kyouran. The oldest sibling of the Kyouran family. She was a tough one. She always hated spending her nights in hospitals whenever she got hurt during any Hero duties. She remembered that one time where she literally escaped through a window to avoid sleeping in the hospital. She was willing to sleep outside than inside. Thankfully, the hospital was warned ahead of time about this and asked someone watch her like a hawk.

"Did you go pay her a visit?" Byakuren suddenly asked her while chewing on a piece of meat.

Mizuha sighed and nodded. This was enough for Byakuren to give him an idea of how their meeting went. Now, he was curious and amused.

"Oh, that's not a good sign." he snorted, "What happened?" he asked, eagerly.

"She whacked me upside the head… I know I didn't have to apologize for the incident… but it just came out. Next thing I knew, she hit me for apologizing." said Mizuha with an obvious pout before shoving a piece of tempura in her mouth with her chopsticks.

Byakuren started laughing at the mental picture of his sister doing such a thing.

She went with her brother to pay Kyougyoku a visit. The older woman was happy to see both of them, especially after learning that five years had passed. It was all going well until Mizuha decided to open her mouth and apologize for the incident, unconsciously. And like she said, she was whacked upside the head. The girl sought refuge behind Shiran and the white haired lady began giving her a scolding and a long lecture. Unlike Shiran, she wasn't nice about it.

But it was good to know she was still the same person she was five years ago.

Everything was finally alright again. Kyougyoku and Shiran were awake and back with their families who missed them.

* * *

Mizuha sighed heavily as she entered the girls' changing room. She chose a basket that was closest to the exit and stood in front of it with a frown. She listened to the other girls happily chatting with each other while changing out of their clothes.

Her hand hovered over her shirt, trying to figure out if she should really get into the hot spring. She was hesitant. She could feel unpleasant prickly sensation on her arms and knees.

"Hyoumei?"

Mizuha looked to her left and saw Yaoyorozu in a towel and looking at her questioningly, wondering why she wasn't moving at all. Everyone was already going outside to finally get into the hot spring. She was the only one who was still in her uniform.

How long had she just been standing there?

"…Yaoyorozu…"

"Is something the matter?"

Mizuha sighed and rested her hands on the edge of the basket. "No, I'm just being nervous for no reason." she rubbed the side of the basket with both her index fingers. "I'm a little shy to go out there..."

 _Sometimes I can get a little tired of myself. Seriously._

When the black haired girl didn't say anything, she turned her head to look at her. She found the taller girl smiling softly at her and she gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to go in with you?"

Mizuha bit the side of her bottom lip as she thought about it. The offer was already easing her mind.

"If you don't mind…"

She didn't want to bother her or anything.

"Not at all."

That was all it took for Mizuha to give in and forget about her anxiousness. When she started removing her shirt, Yaoyorozu turned around to allow her to change out of her clothes in peace. Just like how her mother taught her, she took off her clothes and folded them nicely before placing them inside of the basket. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. Once she realized that nothing else had to be done, she breathed out heavily and continued pushing away her anxious feelings away as much as she could.

While making sure to walk behind Yaoyorozu, she walked outside. The others were washing up on the side. Ashido was quick to finish washing herself with Hagakure. They both quickly entered the bath and let out loud sighs.

No one was staring at her… not that she expected anyone to.

Mizuha, who felt like her head was hiding inside a shell, slowly relaxed and felt at ease.

Yaoyorozu looked behind her and smiled reassuringly to her, "See? That wasn't so bad."

"Yeah," she nodded. "What the heck was I worried about…?" she whispered to herself before thanking Yaoyorozu for walking out with her.

…

…

…

After washing up, they were all inside the hot outdoor bath. They could hear the boys talking about random things on the other side.

 _Holy crap… this feels so relaxing._

Mizuha turned side ways and rested her arms on the side before turning her head and resting it on them. She could literally fall asleep here. She was pretty she was dozing off on the side of the bath and when she did, she felt someone pat her cheek lightly. She frowned and opened her eyes before sitting upright.

"You can't fall asleep in the bath, Hyoumei!" Uraraka quickly told her. It didn't take her too long to realize that the brunette had been the one to wake her.

With a pout, Mizuha rested her chin on her arms. "But it feels so nice that I could fall asleep right here."

"Hyoumei-chan, it won't end well if you sleep here." Tsuyu warned, aware of the consequences of falling asleep in the hot springs.

"Mkaay."

She still kept her chin on her arms.

Uraraka laughed softly, "You probably feel so relaxed since you're in your own Quirk element."

"Hm~ Maybe."

Ashido sunk lower into the water with a happy expression. "This feels so good!"

Jiro lightly splashed some water onto Mizuha's face when she noticed that her eyes were fluttering close once again. "Hyoumei."

"Okay, okay fine." Mizuha sighed and turned her back against wall, forcing herself to stay awake in the bath. "By the way, can you guys just call me Mizuha if it doesn't bother you?"

"You don't mind us calling you by your first name?" Ashido rose up and sat on a rock.

The girl shook her head. She was so used to being called by her first name since she Byakuren always called her by her given name. She probably just grew to not care about the proper formalities. She was only used to being called Hyoumei by people she wasn't close with or when it came to someone with higher authority like her teachers.

"And... I feel like letting you guys call me Hyoumei is like saying I don't want you guys to be my friends? Which is actually the opposite..." her hand came out of the word and scratched her cheek, "I don't know how to explain it... I'm just not used to being called Hyoumei anymore because of Byakuren. I'm not really into formalities or honorifics unless it's really necessary."

There was actually no need to explain it, the girls seemed to have understood. This also made it clear to the other girls that she was really trying to close to gap she created during the first three months of school.

"Sure," Jiro nodded next to her. "Mizuha it is then." she smiled.

The platinum blonde haired girl smiled back softly. "Thanks."

 _"Mineta, stop it!"_

"Iida-kun?" Uraraka looked at the wall separating both baths.

Jiro covered her chest with her arms and narrowed her eyes, "It's Mineta! He's trying to peek!"

 _"What you are doing is demeaning for both yourself and the girls!"_

The water around Mizuha started bubbling as lowered herself into the water.

 _I swear to god if he's actually going to try-_

 _"Plus Ultra!"_

Mizuha immediately raised her hand, ready to shoot an icicle at the twerp's face before he could even lay his eyes on them. However, a certain child popped up from in between the two wooden walls separating both baths and stared down at the short teenager. Kota raised his hand and smacked Mineta's outstretched one, making him fall back down with a yell.

 _"DAMN KID!"_

Mizuha sighed in relief as the girls started thanking Kota. She was glad that Aizawa was always keeping the girls' privacy in mind when it came to that pervert. One of the Pussycat's must have decided to keep Kota on watch in case he tried to peek over the wall.

"Thanks, Kota!" Ashido shouted, throwing her arms in the air happily.

Mizuha saw the little boy glance down, reacting to Ashido's thanks. Suddenly, he let out a startled sound and leaned back towards the edge of the wall. Both sides of the bath let out shocked gasps as he fell down on in the male's side.

 _"Look out!"_

Midoriya's shout was accompanied by water splashing around.

"Deku! What is he alright?!" Uraraka raised her voice to ask the boy on the other side.

 _"He's fine! I caught him!"_

All the girls sighed in relief. The green haired boy then quickly said that he was going to bring Kota back inside since he passed out. When they heard him say that the little boy passed out, Mizuha was the first one to react. She turned around and pushed herself out of the bath as quickly as she could. She snatched her towel from off the floor while she was at it.

"Mizuha? What's wrong?" Yaoyorozu asked, confused.

"Are you going to bed?" Hagakure guessed.

"I'll be right back." said Mizuha without looking back at the other girls.

She hastily walked to the door and slid it open. She stepped in and shut the door behind her soundlessly. Her eyes darted around the changing room in search of a yukata. She found a bunch of them somewhere in a corner and was quick to grab one for herself. Her towel was carelessly tossed into her basket before she started putting on the Japanese garment. She made sure she tied the white sash tightly around her. Once everything was set, she marched out of the changing room and walked towards her left. She entered the male's changing room and marched towards the door leading to the male's bath.

When she slammed it open, all the attention was brought to her.

Some guys choked, some simply stared while the others submerged themselves deeper into the water.

"H-Hyoumei-kun?!" Iida spluttered, shocked.

"Mizuha?!" Byakuren gawked.

"Wh-What are you doing in here?!" Sero asked the question that was currently in every guy's head.

She ignored them and her eyes were scanning the area, searching for a little midget. The fact that she was in the male's bath was the last thing on her mind. Her eyes went from Bakugo who was resting against the edge to Kirishima and Kaminari who were both staring at her with enlarged eyes and to the other end of the bath.

She spotted him.

He was standing next to the bath, staring her like a deer in headlights.

Mizuha pointed at him, "You!"

All the boys looked at Mineta.

She started marching towards him with a pissed expression.

The purple haired boy immediately knew he was on Mizuha's bad side at the moment. He was instantly reminded of the time he tried peeping through a small hole at school. Thinking she wouldn't dive after him in the water, he jumped in without hesitation over Byakuren's head.

Mizuha stopped where he previously stood and glared at him.

Byakuren tilted his head backwards.

She motioned her head.

He sighed.

With a hand gesture, he pushed Mineta with his Quirk towards Mizuha while he moved out of the way.

As soon as Mineta made it close to the edge against his will, his fearful cry echoed as Mizuha tossed him into the air. She flipped him in the process and grabbed his leg to hold him upside down. The smaller student desperately tried keeping his towel over his crotch as he was held in front of the other guys.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" he screamed at Byakuren.

The white haired boy shrugged.

"The faster she deals with you, the quicker she'll leave our bath!" Byakuren explained. He looked at the other guys. "Right?"

They all nodded in unison, understanding that Mizuha was about to pass judgement on Mineta.

All except for one, Iida Tenya.

"Hyoumei-kun! Put him down right now!" demanded Iida, loudly. "You are not allowed to be in the men's bath!" he pointed at her.

Mizuha clicked her tongue. She held up Mineta's upside down body in front of her. "That poor kid wouldn't have fallen in the first place if this guy wasn't such a perv!" she shook Mineta like as if she was holding a fish by its tail.

The short boy was desperately trying to keep his towel on his jewels.

"But that doesn't mean you can barge into the men's bath!"

"You guys aren't going to punish him so someone has to do it!"

As Mizuha and Iida argued over her presence in the men's bath, Mineta tried to get out of her lock. All the other boys stared in disbelief while the girls were shocked to hear that she was on the other side.

"Mizuha really doesn't like perverts, huh?" Kaminari stated the obvious, referring to the scene in front of them and the time she froze Mineta to the ground.

Byakuren pushed his wet bangs out of his face and slicked it back, away from his eyes. "She finds them insulting."

"Insulting?" repeated Kaminari.

"She said it was because perverts only see girls for how they look and not for how they are." Byakuren indirectly quoted her. "… something like that." he added.

Kirishima turned his head and looked at Mizuha from his spot. She was busy glaring at Mineta, she turned him around so that he could face her. She was harshly scolding him and shouting in his face while Iida stood next to her, he apparently gave in to what she wanted and decided to stand by just in case she would resort to violence.

"She's the type who thinks very strongly about who a person in on the inside and not the outside, huh?" Satou said lowly.

Byakuren nodded with a smile but then sighed a second after. He sat back and leaned against the edge. "I remember this one time where some guy was attempting to peek into the girls changing room in middle school… I think he did for a moment and then ran away or something." he waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway," Byakuren pointed at her. "she heard about that and literally threw her pencil case at his nuts. Hard." he said nonchalantly with a close eyed smile.

The guys cringed.

"Oh but don't worry~ She uses her Quirk now to punish." said Byakuren cheerfully.

Ojiro sweatdropped. "I don't think that's much better…"

Mineta screamed as he found himself momentarily flying through the air. His screams were drowned after the sound of splashing water was heard. Everyone stared at Mineta, who was floating in the water with most of his body trapped in ice.

"M-Mineta…" Kaminari said, pitying him.

"NOBODY TOUCH HIM!"

Most of them jolted in surprise at the sudden volume of her voice.

"LET THE ICE MELT ON ITS OWN!" Mizuha whipped her head towards Todoroki who was innocently sitting on a rock.

She was purposely going to strengthen her ice and not let it melt just yet.

He stared back at her.

"Especially you! Don't help the twerp."

The dual colored haired boy slowly nodded his head, submitting to her sudden authority. "Okay."

With a huff, Mizuha stomped towards the door leading back to the male's changing room without saying another word. They simply watched her go. She harshly slid the door shut behind her. The storm had passed.

All the guy's stared at the door.

Not too long after that, the guys heard the girls welcome Mizuha back with light laughter.

There was a long pause. Then Byakuren started laughing out loud.

* * *

While Mizuha was setting up her futon on the floor, she heard their door slide open. As she patted her pillow, her eyes shifted to the side to see who it was. It was Sero and a few other guys. It was just like how they discussed during dinner, they were checking out the girls' room. Ashido was dragging some other girls to check out the guys' room. With a small chuckle, Mizuha grabbed her blanket with her pillow she brought from home and a walked to the door on the opposite side of the room. She easily pulled it to the side, letting the cool air enter the room for a few seconds as she stepped outside.

She gently dropped herself on her knees and crawled towards one the wooden beams. Then she shifted position to let herself lean back against it.

A while ago, she crossed paths with Aizawa. He called her over and told her head to bed early, he knew about her terrible sleeping habit. He warned her because he wasn't going to tolerate her falling asleep the next day in the middle of training. She was going to need to rest up for tomorrow. If he caught her falling asleep during training, then she was going to join the extra lessons' group. That was enough to convince her. That's why she was sitting outside, enjoying the night's breeze. She figured this would relax her enough so that she could head to bed and be ready to close her eyes.

Besides, it was a little noisy at the moment since there was much talking and a bit of playing. Uraraka brought a deck of cards so that they could play before falling asleep, a game like that would only make it difficult for Mizuha to sleep.

Mizuha wrapped herself in her blanket with her head covered like as if she had a hood. Her legs were sprawled in front of her and her arms were wrapped around her soft boomerang pillow. Her eyes were staring at the moon as her fingers absently stroked the pillow made of fleece, she brought her knees up and snuggled against the pillow.

Her mind drifted to memory lane, remembering the events of the past three months at U.A.

 _Mizuha suddenly walked into someone's back. She was so startled by it that she almost fell backwards._

 _"Ah geez, I'm sorry! I didn't know someone was behind me!" The person in front of her apologized, it was a guy. She hadn't even looked up yet since she was still looking at the floor._

 _She looked up was greeted by a pair of red eyes. He had black hair that framed his face. Above his right eye was a little scar. He probably at least ten centimeters taller than her. She didn't know how much time she spent staring at him but she snapped out of it once he started waving his hand in front of her face. Mizuha jolted and took a step back. She apologized for staring at him and reassured him that it was no big deal. He sighed in relief while muttering something about how it wouldn't be manly of him to scare a girl before an important entrance exam._

 _He smiled at her, "Well, good luck to the both of us." He said with a thumbs up._

 _She awkwardly put out her own thumbs up, "Y-Yeah...good luck." She repeated with a small weird grin._

Mizuha chuckled to herself. He looked so different back then and she was so weird.

 _Mizuha groaned in annoyance. She ignored Byakuren and turned to the door once again. However, just as she reached for it, he wrapped an arm around her mid-section and pulled her towards his side. She gaped at him as he did a close eyed smile, she looked down and saw his right arm around her right side. Oh, how she wished she could burn it off._

 _He lifted up his left hand and held out his index finger, "The real question is: are we dating?"_

 _She felt him move closer to her face until their cheeks were practically touching. Her body froze when she felt his other arm wrap around her neck loosely._

 _"How's this for an answer?" He asked with a mischievous tone._

 _Mizuha's right eye twitched. She lost all patience with her friend who was locking her in a weird embrace. Before anyone could say anything, her left arm moved up and slammed into his stomach. Needless to say, Byakuren released her when he felt the air get knocked out him. He gasped for air and stumbled backwards. He supported himself with the edge of the teacher's desk._

 _Mizuha simply looked at him with an apathetic face, "How's that for an answer?" she asked. Without waiting for a reply, she slid the door open and walked out of the classroom._

 _When she closed the classroom door, she could Byakuren's words, "I was only kidding! Violent Ice Queen!" He wailed accompanied by some groaning._

 _She huffed in annoyance as she walked off._

Her eyes slowly shut as thought more about certain moments during her first months at U.A. Now that was taking the time to look back, she found it all amusing in some way. She kept the façade for five years and it was relieving to know that she really wasn't going back to how she used to be. She even remembered secondary thoughts that were hidden behind the first thoughts of a certain memories.

Meeting Kirishima for the first time made her panic when he thought she was really okay with being friends with him, but she could remember the slight feeling of being shy. She didn't know how to respond to Kirishima's sudden friendly behavior due to her lack of interaction with people other than Byakuren on a friendly level.

When Yaoyorozu reassured her that they would be there for her if she asked. It made her feel less lonely and happy.

When Todoroki first asked her if they wanted to be friends. She remembered doubting him but she also remembered feeling a sudden excitement when he asked her the question.

She was remembering her hidden thoughts and feelings.

A smile appeared on her lips.

While she was getting lost in her own memories, she didn't notice a door sliding open. A familiar red head stepped out and peeked outside. When he noticed that she was there, he forced himself to slid the door shut with less noise as possible. He had stepped out to take a few minutes of fresh air before heading to bed, he wasn't expecting to see Mizuha all snuggled up with a pillow and a blanket outside.

Quietly, he tiptoed to her with a grin. He was planning on giving her a little scare while her guard was down. But the light sound of his clothes rustling was enough for her to open her eyes and stare directly at Kirishima.

"Ah." Kirishima stopped in his tracks.

Mizuha squinted her eyes at him. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

The redhead stood up straight and laughed lightly. "I was trying to scare you." he admitted without hesitation.

The girl only scoffed in amusement and squeezed her pillow closer to her. "Well you failed." she stuck her tongue out with a playful grin.

Kirishima shrugged. "I tried."

He then walked to over to her and plopped down in front of her. "So, why are you out here?"

She shrugged. "I'm just relaxing out here before I go to sleep."

He slightly puckered his lips and nodded his head slowly with a hum.

"And you?"

"Getting some fresh air before bed."

Mizuha also nodded while humming. Then she breathed in slowly and then breathed out heavily while snuggling closer to her pillow. Red orbs landed on a barely noticeable gesture that Mizuha started doing with her thumb. It was gently stroking the material of her pillow. His eyes trailed back up to her face and noticed the content smile on her face as she stared at the moon while the moonlight shined down on her.

She seemed really relaxed. He was sure that she would have simply sat outside without a blanket or a pillow and just stare at the sky without expressing anything with her face, if she was still her old self.

Kirishima smiled, turned his head and stared at the dark sky.

All they could hear was the occasional sound of leaves rustling from the invisible gentle strength that would pass by. They could hear some crickets somewhere in the distance and there was also the sound of water that was coming from the hot springs. Then there was the sound of their classmates chatting and laughing inside the rooms.

They were relaxing and listening to all the background noises.

Mizuha opened her eyes and looked at the moon when she remembered something important. Her eyes shifted towards the side, she looked at Kirishima. His eyes were also fixed on the dark sky above them. She turned her head towards him and called out his name. The boy tore his eyes away from the sky and he looked at her quickly after he heard his name.

"Thanks for listening to me during the Sports Festival."

He blinked. It took him a few seconds to make sense of what she was talking about. Then he quickly waved his hand in front of his face dismissively. "I was only doing what I thought was right."

Mizuha wiggled her head out of her make shift hood, letting the blanket drop behind on her shoulders. "You were there for me when I needed it. It really helped me." her lips tugged towards the right side sheepishly. "I thought of what you said when I was fighting Byakuren… y'know when I finally used my Quirk 'normally'. It helped a lot."

He laughed and simply reached out to her and ruffled her hair, much to her surprise.

"I'm glad I was able to help." he repeated the same words he told her brother.

Mizuha then ducked her head inside her blanket as she felt a yawn come up. She yawned soundlessly and rubbed her eyes with the blanket as he she felt tears in the corner of her eyes. Kirishima chuckled softly and pointed backwards with his thumb.

"Go to bed. You're getting tired, Hyoumei."

Mizuha shut her eyes and nodded slowly, lazily. "Okaaay." she drawled before leaning her weight against her weight against the wooden beam to then slide upwards against it to get on her feet.

He watched her turn around and walk slowly to the sliding door. She stopped. She turned around and moved towards him, dragging her feet while she was it. Her blanket followed after her like a long cape. He continued watching her, curiously this time and wondered what she wanted as she stood in front of him. He was taken by surprise when her hand landed on top of his head, patting it.

"Just call me Mizuha."

He stared at her sleepy face in wonder as he felt her hand slip off his head slowly.

She smiled, it disappeared as fast as it appeared. "Goodnight." she bid before turning around and walking back to the door.

Confused, Kirishima placed a hand on top of his head and also bid her goodnight just before she went inside.

Then he was left alone. He tilted his head and turned his attention back to the sky.

"Mizuha… huh."

* * *

The next morning, Mizuha's eyes opened first. She stared at the ceiling above her and listening to the soft snoring that was coming from Ashido not too far away. She stayed in that position for a few minutes before turning her head, searching for her phone. When she saw the time, she sighed at her internal clock. Even though she slept early, she still felt a little tired. She pulled up her phone's camera and zoomed in on herself to check her eyes. There didn't seem to have any eye bags to would prove she didn't have enough sleep. Lazily, she forced herself up into a sitting position and ruffled her hair in attempt to wake herself even more.

Quietly, she crawled out of her futon and towards where her bag was. She slowly zipped her bag open while occasionally making a few glances over her shoulder. Mizuha didn't want to wake anyone because of her own internal clock.

She pulled out a small white face towel and silently strode over to the door. She quickly went to the bathroom and washed her face with cold water, effectively waking her up.

On her way back, she checked her phone for anything that needed her attention. She almost didn't realize Aizawa turn around the corner.

He saw her and stopped in his tracks.

Unlike her, he was all ready and dressed for the day.

 _That's not a good sign…_

"Good morning." she greeted.

"Good morning. I see you went to bed early like I told you to."

Mizuha tilted her head and shut her eyes with a frowned. "I'm not really up for having extra lessons I don't need."

He ignored her statement. "While you're up, do me a favor and wake the others. Then come outside once everyone's ready." he instructed with his usual lazy voice.

"… Um, okay—"

" – And make it quick. We don't have time to waste." he added before walking back the way he came.

Mizuha scowled while he wasn't looking. _Weren't you going to wake us up? Why do I have to do it?!_

Already feeling sort of grumpy, Mizuha marched back to the rooms. Instead of going back to her room, she went inside the guys' room. To her surprise, she found Byakuren already folding up his futon when she opened the door, He looked equally surprised.

"Mornin'." he whispered.

Mizuha quickly made her way towards him and grabbed him to whisper in his ear. He listened to her carefully and then nodded excitedly.

They both tried to open the sliding doors separating both rooms as quietly as they could. Unfortunately, a few students woke up to the sound of it. Todoroki, Shoji and Tokoyami were the only ones who woke up. Before they could ask what the two friends were doing, they both held up a finger to their lips.

Once both rooms were openly connected, they both opened their phones and did a quick search on the internet. They both held up their phones…

With the volume at its max, the sound of an airhorn played. A couple of their classmates jolted awake, some shrieked while some simply ignored the sound and tried to fall back asleep. Wide grins appeared on Byakuren and Mizuha's faces.

"Good morning~!" Byakuren sang cheerfully.

Mizuha threw her wet towel on Kaminari's face, jolting him awake with a yelp.

"Not cool!" Kaminari whined.

"You guys are the worst…" Jiro groaned while rubbing her face.

"You guys scared us!" Hagakure whined, her blanket flailing around.

"The fuck is your problem?!" Bakugo shouted, clearly not amused from their unique wake up call.

Mizuha crouched down next to Kaminari. "Amazing. You're angry first thing in the morning. That's like a high degree of skill." she said nonchalantly while picking up her towel.

"Die!" he threw someone's pillow at her which she dodged with ease.

Byakuren smiled like as if nothing happened. "Aizawa-sensei wants us to head outside."

"It's soo early!" Ashido threw her arms in the air. "I wanna sleep more!"

Yaoyorozu was already folding up her futon. "It can't be helped. We're here for training."

With everyone notified, they both slid the doors closed to once again separated both rooms so that they could have some privacy to change.

Mizuha was quick to change into her P.E clothes. Then she sat on the floor and munched on some cookies that she packed in her bag. She had a feeling it was going to be tiring day.

* * *

"Good morning, class!" he greeted.

There was no reply from the students.

"Today, we will begin the training camp to increase your strength in earnest. The goal of this training camp is to increase everyone's strength and with that, for everyone to obtain their provisional licenses. It is to prepare you all to face hostilities that are becoming more real by the minute. Proceed carefully. So, Bakugo," he tossed him a ball, the same kind they used when on their first day of class. "try throwing that."

"This is from the fitness test…" remembered Bakugo.

"Your previous record, from right after you started school, was 705.2 meters," stated their teacher. "Let's see how much you've improved."

Bakugo walked further away, giving himself some distance.

Mizuha was actually curious to see how much he improved in the passed three months with all the events that happened. They were bound to see a lot of progress.

"Do it, Bakugo!" cheered Kirishima.

"Then… Here I go…" The blond took a step back and pulled his arm back. Then he threw the ball with everything he had. "Go to hell!"

Mizuha squinted her eyes. His Quirk once again caused a gust of wind to fly in their faces just like during the fitness test.

Aizawa looked down at his phone, then he turned around and held up it. "709.6 meters."

Mizuha's eyes enlarged. There was barely any progress.

If the airhorn or the gust of wind wasn't enough to wake them up, they were awake now and alarmed.

"That's a looooot less than what I thought…" Byakuren whispered next to her. She agreed silently and kept her attention on their homeroom teacher.

"It's been about three months since you've started high school. Through various experiences, you all have definitely improved. But that improvement has mainly been at the mental and the technical levels, with some increase in stamina. As you can see, your Quirks themselves have not improved that much."

Unhappy with the facts, Mizuha stared down at her hands with a frown.

"That's why we will work on improving your Quirks starting today."

She looked up and saw him grin… evilly.

Mizuha scowled.

"It'll be so hard you'll feel like dying, but try not to actually die."

She was starting to get worried just like everyone else.

 _But then again, this is actually what I need right now. I need to work on my Quirk and improve it as much as I can while I'm here._

 _I wonder what Aizawa has in store for us…_

* * *

 **... A month, huh. It can't be helped. You can expect the regular weekly updates to come back around the third week of May!**


	13. Chapter 13: Training Camp III

_Just before the end of the semester ended, Mizuha was called into the teachers' office by Aizawa. On her way there, she wondered if she did anything wrong since she had no idea why she was being called in the first place. When she got there, he handed her a paper and instructed her to fill it out. She needed to write about her Quirk honestly in detail and tell him what she could do with her Quirk. He needed to know so that he could arrange a suitable training exercise for her during the training camp. Everyone in the class already had something planned out for them, Mizuha was the only one left that didn't have anything planned out._

 _She wasted no time in filling out the paper._

 _Aizawa took a hold of the paper in front of him while she still had it in her hand. His eyes looked up when she didn't let go. He saw how she was hesitating to give it to him._

 _He frowned. "Hyoumei, did you fill it out honestly?"_

 _Without letting go of the paper, she rubbed her back of her neck with her free hand. "Um… I may have left something out?"_

 _"And why is that?"_

 _She didn't answer right away._

 _"… It's not something I am comfortable with using when I haven't practiced all my Quirk forms… It's dangerous with the lack of training I have now…"_

 _Aizawa observed the worry in her eyes, he could even hear it in her voice. She really didn't want to use it yet. He closed his eyes and sighed before pulling the paper towards him and away from her. She looked surprised and lowered her hand. He placed the paper on his desk on top of a folder._

 _"Just tell me about it. I won't make you use right away. I just need to know how much you need to improve in order for you to use it."_

 _Mizuha bit her lip as his words reeled into her mind. She wasn't about to doubt her homeroom teacher's words when he wasn't the type to lie. Sure, there were times where he lied in order to scare his students but she didn't think he'd lie when his students were genuinely worried about something that might affect them._

 _She held her fingers together and nodded._

* * *

Mizuha looked around her and saw how everyone was already focusing on their own training. Hers was a bit similar to Todoroki. Instead of standing in a pot of bathwater, they gave her one large pool that was empty.

Aizawa walked towards the empty pool and tapped it twice. "This will help you gain more control and changing the state of water. You'll get more in touch with your Quirk by constantly changing the state."

Mizuha nodded. "Am I supposed to go inside the pool?"

"Yes. Just like Todoroki, I want your body to get used temperature of your Quirk and I also want you to gain more over control it. It'll help you use _it_ without hesitating."

Mizuha nodded again, slowly this time.

With a few more instructions, Aizawa left her alone with her large pool. Mizuha simply turned around and watched her teacher walk away, then her eyes wandered to look at her classmates who were already focusing on their training. She could hear Kaminari and Sero screaming from afar along with Bakugo's yelling and explosions. She sweat dropped and turned back around to face her own training. Even though it wouldn't do much, she lowered herself to roll up her pants and took off her U.A jacket. She folded it in a half-assed manner and set it aside where she could see it. She tied her hair up the best way the she could so that it wouldn't get wet.

She approached the pool and set her hands on the edge. Then she pushed herself up until her rear was sitting on the edge.

She allowed herself to slip in the water.

She cringed at how cold it was.

"Jeez, what the heck?!" she quickly made the water around her warmer.

With one deep breath, she decided to begin. The process was painful but not unbearable. The water around her boiled until it became gas but she kept some water around her at a cool temperature to start. She did the same thing when the water turned to ice, the opposite. It was actually the first time she was trying to manipulate water while using two water states. It was difficult.

She didn't know how long she was at it, but she was starting to get exhausted.

…

…

…

 _Shiran waved at Mizuha from where he stood, making her smile and wave back happily. Her uncle sat next to her with a remote in his right hand._

 _Shiran took training sessions with Eijin since their uncle was good at coming up with training exercises. Mizuha was allowed to come along and watch how their training sessions would go. Eijin thought it would be helpful for Mizuha to observe her older brother since their Quirks were similar._

 _"Ready, Shiran?" Eijin asked loudly._

 _The older boy gave his uncle a thumbs up._

 _Eijin brought the remote closer to Mizuha. "You press it."_

 _Mizuha looked up at her uncle and blinked, unsure. Eijin nudged her side lightly and pointed at the noticeable yellow button with his other hand. That was only encouragement Mizuha needed before she gladly pressed it with her index finger. Once she commenced her brother's training, the two relatives brought their attention to the older Hyoumei. There were a couple of tennis machines surrounding Shiran in a circle. Once the first ball flew towards him, Shiran dodged it gracefully and kept his eyes open for the next one. He kept dodging the tennis balls that came one after another._

 _Eijin looked at the remote in his hand and hovered his thumb over another button. "I'm speeding it up." he warned before pressing the button._

 _Now, the balls flew out quicker._

 _At some point, Shiran extended his arm to the side and water shot out and landed at a distant spot. As if he was attracted like a magnet, his body became like water and he was warped to the spot where the water landed. He slid against the ground when he landed. He kicked off the ground as soon as he saw another ball heading towards him. Eijin pressed the same button again and repeated his warning._

 _Mizuha was amazed at how her brother never got hit by a single tennis ball so far._

 _Eijin glanced at his niece from the corner of his eye and noticed how the amazement on her face. He placed his left hand on her head and ruffled her hair. He left his hand on her head and brought his attention back on Shiran who was still avoiding the tennis balls._

 _"See that Mizuha? You'll be able to do that one day too. Point warping and phasing through."_

 _"Phasing… through?"_

 _"Like that." he pointed at Shiran._

 _Mizuha turned her head and was just in time to witness her brother nimbly take a step back. For a split second, he scowled and a ball phased through his shoulder that became water. Shiran then grinned, glad that his technique worked. But then, he stumbled backwards when he caught himself after stepping on a stray tennis ball. During that moment, a tennis ball hit him square on the forehead and he fell backwards._

 _Eijin ceased the machines and laughed out loud._

 _Mizuha cringed._

 _Shiran groaned as he rolled onto his side, swatting away the tennis balls he landed on._

…

…

…

Unlike her solid form that was more chaotic when she emitted it, the liquid form required more concentration… something she was lacking due to her neglecting it for five years. There was one time where Shiran ended up in the hospital since he didn't warp properly. He was an unhappy camper when he broke his arm after a failed warping. And since the water becomes a part of their body once they warp or phase… there was a high possibility that something could get stuck in their body if ended their phasing while something was passing through them.

Mizuha leaned back against the edge of the pool and stared at the sky. She panted while trying to cool down.

 _A quirk is like a muscle… if you don't train it enough… it'll grow weak._

With that thought in mind, she pushed herself away from the edge and was determined to continue.

* * *

"Like we said, the pampering ended yesterday!"

"Wanna eat? Then you gotta cook for yourselves! Today is curry!"

Class 1-A joined by Class 1-B who joined their training not too long after they did all groaned in exhaustion.

Tired, soaked and unhappy. Mizuha was hunching forward with her jacket above her head, serving as a lid for negativity she was starting to leak once she was reminded of this. Making their own food? She wasn't sure how she was going to help since she barely knew how to cook. She knew how to cook noodles from a package and eat frozen foods. She knew how to make rice when her mother asked her too. And recently she learned how to make onigiri without screwing it up. That was all she knew.

With an encouragement from Iida, that didn't really help, everyone tapped into the last reserves of energy they had left to cook their dinner. They all went to change out of their P.E clothes and into more comfortable set. Once everyone was ready, they started diving the tasks.

Yaoyorozu looked at everyone. "Who wants to prepapre the rice?" she asked while pointing at the said ingredient in the table.

As if it was her calling, Mizuha made a beeline for it without even raising her hand. She could simply use her quirk to wash and cook it, almost like another form of training...

Taken back, Byakuren followed after her and announced that they would be doing it and insisted that the two of them were enough to prepare it. Mizuha was already ignoring everything else while she fumbled with the bag.

Byakuren stood next to her while their backs were facing their classmates. He placed his left hand near the right side of his mouth and asked in a hushed voice: "You're making the rice? I thought you didn't know how."

Mizuha quickly swatted his forehead, making him yelp. "Shut up! I do know how! It's just that the freaking rice cooker we have at home has two sides when measuring the water level! I get confused!" she answered back in the same hushed manner.

Just as Mizuha was about to finish washing the last set, Byakuren went to go ask how they should cook it since they had no idea how to proceed. Mizuha dried her hands with and stared at the set she just washed. Then, she peeked over her shoulder and saw how Byakuren was talking with Yaoyorozu. When she looked back at the rice, she just started staring until she started remembering how the rice at home would cook.

… She started boiling the rice.

Mizuha titled her head and wondered if it would work if she continued.

 _Could it?_

"Mizuha."

Said girl suddenly let out a yelp and ceased the boiling water, spinning around to see who had just shortened her life span in half. She saw Byakuren and Uraraka staring at her.

"What's wrong?" the brown haired girl asked, surprised.

"Nothing." Mizuha answered quickly while shaking her head, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

Byakuren stared at her suspiciously.

With the help of Uraraka, they brought it to appropriate place for the next step in preparing the rice.

Turns out boiling the rice was the method they were going for.

* * *

A young man with sand brown hair, sitting on the edge of the cliff whistled a cheerful tune while swinging his legs back and forth. He was enjoying the night and the gentle breeze it was offering.

"I mean, I don't like this. It's not cute." A young girl complained behind him while fiddling with the mask around her face, making only her bright yellow eyes visible.

"This was orchestrated by the designer behind the scenes, right? Appearances don't matter as long as it makes sense."

"I'm not talking about that! I just don't want to wear this!" she continued to complain.

Three more people walked up the cliff, adding themselves to the group standing atop the cliff. A tall person carrying an item, a strange man strapped in a straight jacket and another who looked like mutant-type.

A black haired man who was standing closer to the edge and next to the man sitting on it, briefly looked past his shoulder and then back at the sight in front of him. "That makes eight."

A hooded figure's hands twitched in anticipation. "I don't care, just let me at 'em. I'm getting too pumped up."

The black haired individual looked back to address the impatient villain. "Shut up, you crazy bastard." He looked back in front of him. "Not yet. We'll move when all eleven of us are here. Gathering a bunch of punks who are just strong will only increase the risk. It's better to have a small group of experienced elites. First, we make them realize… that their peace is resting in our hands."

The whistling of the tune stopped.

The person sitting tilted his head back and stared at the moon through his long bangs that covered his two eyes. Then, a wide grin stretched across his face.

"The moon looks nice tonight~"

* * *

The next day, training resumed.

Mizuha wasn't sure if her body was getting used to the change in temperature yet, but she was definitely certain that she was feeling less pain changed it from hot to cold. It was only taking her less time to switch between phases, a clear sign of improvement. Mizuha exhaled deeply and positioned herself in the center once again. She lightly slapped her cheeks to harden her determination and started turning the water into ice.

Suddenly, Pixie-Bob laughed from afar where she was sitting on a truck on top of a box. The truck was loaded with box that was most likely filled with the necessary ingredients that the students needed in order to make tonight's dinner. Again.

"Listen, everyone! Tonight… we'll have a test of courage with both classes pitted against each other! After training hard, you can play hard! The carrot and the stick!"

Mizuha, who was staring at Pixie-Bob while she was talking, tilted her head to the side. She tried to recall any type of test of courage she had done in her life… but came up with nothing. The only thing that came up was the fond memory of playing hide-and-seek with her old friends in a big school and scaring those who were hiding before catching them.

"So, do your best right now!"

Mizuha winced.

 ** _"COLD!"_**

She instantly melted the ice without delay and dropped down on her knees inside the pool, leaving her head above water.

She closed her eyes and waited for her body to stop shivering.

* * *

Training for the day was finally over and now they were all cooking dinner once again. This time, Mizuha took care of washing the vegetables they needed and cutting stuff with Kirishima and Bakugo. Normally, she would stay away from anything that was out of her expertise but she decided to try it out anyway for the sake of improving herself as a person since she was lacking in so many areas.

She got a few pointers from Kirishima who taught her how to use a knife without injuring herself. Thankfully, she was a quick learner. It was only when she finally got the hang of it that she actually heard Bakugo's knife skills behind her. She turned around to look and saw him chopping a carrot with ease as if he had done it a million times. Her eyes darted between the chopped carrot and his calm face, not believing what she was seeing.

Uraraka passed by Bakugo while carrying firewood and her attention was also caught by Bakugo knife cutting skills.

"Bakugo, you're really good at using a knife! I'm surprised!"

His calm demeanor immediately changed and snapped his head towards the brunette. "Surprised?! The hell?! How can you be bad with a knife!"

"Oooh!" Mizuha exclaimed. "He's cutting it without looking!" she pointed.

Byakuren cheerfully brought a basket of potatoes with Todoroki. "We got some more for you guys!"

Mizuha turned around while holding her knife in a way where she almost sliced Byakuren's finger in the process. The white haired boy's eyes widened and he changed from cheerful to fearful. He backed away quickly and nearly stumbled into the quiet boy if it weren't for the fact that Todoroki stepped out of his way.

"Put the knife down! You almost cut me!" Byakuren motioned his chin towards the weapon she was carrying.

Mizuha rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a baby." She flipped the knife in her hand and carried it backwards, freaking him out even more by the possibility of it flying towards him.

Seeing his flinch made her grin sadistically.

"Stop!"

"Hyoumei, stop scaring him." Todoroki remarked softly.

Kirishima placed a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, that's dangerous."

With the girls addressing Mizuha by her first name, it became no secret that she didn't mind being called by it. However, some people chose to keep calling her by her last name since they were more comfortable with it. She didn't mind.

"Who let her around knives? I don't even trust her with scissors!"

"Okay, no, you're just overreacting."

"No, remember that time you were angry? You—"

" ** _Oi!_** If you're going to be noisy then do it somewhere else!" Bakugo spat while cutting an onion, angrily.

Mizuha rolled her head to the side, looking at him. She pointed at him with her knife. "You wanna start—?!"

Kirishima immediately took the knife out of her hands and told Bakugo to just continue his task seeing as he was about to respond. Byakuren stood between them while Todoroki reached one hand around her and made her turn around.

"Just focus on cutting the vegetables." Todoroki patted her head before setting down the basket on the table.

Mizuha huffed.

…

…

…

After eating, it was night time. The perfect time for their activity to start. Guided by three of the Pussycats, they were brought deeper into the forest.

Ashido threw her hands up in the air excitedly. "It's time for the test of courage!" she cheered.

"We're gonna test it!"

"Sorry to break it to you…" Aizawa spoke up, making certain students stiffen up. "But the extra-lessons group will be having class with me now."

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!"

Aizawa trapped the remedial group in his bandages. "Your training during the day wasn't good enough, so I'm gonna cut into your playtime."

Sato, Kirishima, Ashido and Sero were trapped… but Byakuren was hiding behind Mizuha.

"Oi, Kyouran. That means you too."

The white haired boy frowned and kept a firm grip on Mizuha's shoulders, who simply stood there with an uninterested expression. "Oh come on, Aizawa-sensei! You know that's not true! I worked hard even though classes lasted until 2 AM. I wasn't even so tried compared to those guys!"

"Don't try to weasel your way outta this!" Sero shouted.

"That's unfair!" Ashido whined.

"You saw me! I was really training hard!"

The two stared at each other in silence.

"You'll stay for half the time and then you can join the others."

Byakuren jumped away from Mizuha. "YOSH!" he did a close eyed smile and hopped over to the remedial group willingly.

"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Ashido yelled once again.

With that, the class watched the poor students get dragged away by their teacher with the white haired boy following closely behind. Mizuha shook her head at her friend's success and returned her attention along with the other students to the test of courage.

"Okay, so Class B will be the first to be the scarers! Class A will leave in pairs every three minutes. There are tags with your names written on them in the middle of the route, so bring those back with you! Those being the scarers are not allowed to make direct contact. Show us how scary you are with your Quirks."

Mizuha tilted her head and squinted her eyes.

 _Is there anything scary about my Quirk? Aside from making something so obvious like a giant hammer that could kill you?_

"The class that makes the most people piss their pants with creativity and imagination wins!" Tiger said, making Jiro feel disgusted.

"I see! They're trying to make us refine our ideas by making us compete with each other, giving us more options for our Quirks in the process! As expected of U.A!"

 _As expected of Iida…_

"Now, you'll draw lots to determine your partners!" announced the blonde Hero.

Mizuha stared at the little piece of paper in her hand that had the number three written in black. Without moving from her spot, she shuffled her feet to turn around and look at her classmates.

"Who's got three?" She asked loud enough for them to hear.

A familiar blond haired boy perked up and looked in her direction. He grinned and jogged up to her and held up his piece between his index and middle finger.

"Looks like it's you and me again!" Kaminari said, excited.

"What are the odds~" Mizuha waved her piece of paper while holding it the same way he did with his.

They were partners for their practical exams during the finals. Mizuha and Kaminari found it amusing that their were paired together again. The complete opposite of the group before them: Bakugo and Todoroki. The angry student was trying to find someone to switch with him since he didn't want to be partnered him. Mineta, being the little pervert that he was, tried switching with Aoyama who was with Yaoyorozu. And then there was Midoriya, the extra person.

He was probably terrified of going alone or something.

The platinum blonde haired girl chuckled softly at his reaction. Then she waved at Midoriya to get his attention. "Byakuren might be back before you go in. There's still hope."

"… Yeah." Midoriya nodded slowly but didn't feel reassured.

To be honest, Mizuha didn't believe that Byakuren might be back before it was the boy's turn. Oh well, it was worth a try.

The first team to walk down the path was Tokoyami and Shoji. After six minutes, Bakugo and Todoroki followed after. As she waited for her turn, she looked up at the sky in hopes of passing the time faster. Then she heard a couple of female screams echoing inside the forest, it was probably Class 1-B trying to scare her classmates. It was either that or her classmates went before her were hiding such a feminine voice.

Pixie-Bob checked her watch and grinned. "Alright!" she suddenly exclaimed, startling Mizuha. "Hyoumei-Kitty, Lightning-Kitty, go!"

"Finally!" Kaminari cheered.

Mizuha went on ahead while Kaminari turned and saluted the others before following after her into the forest. As they continued venturing further into the dark, their only light source came from the moon above them, other than that they were practically swimming in darkness.

"Hey Mizuha."

"Hmm?"

"If you get scared," he turned to her with a grin. "You can always hold my hand." he teased while trying to sound cool.

She gave him a dumbfounded look. "If you get scared, don't expect anything from me."

Then, they heard rustling and hissing coming from their right. Both their heads snapped towards the right. It startled them from their exchange but it wasn't enough to make them stop moving.

This made Mizuha grin. "Try harder." she said with light mock, hoping it would annoy whoever tried scaring them.

"Are you alright with scary stuff?" Kaminari wondered curiously.

"It's more like… I'm the one doing the scaring most of the time whenever I'm with Byakuren. I don't know how it'll be the other way around."

Kaminari snickered. "Knowing how calm you look most of the time… I wonder if you'll even scream."

Mizuha shrugged.

"I'd like to hear a girly scream~"

"I'm about to run ahead and leave you here all alone."

"… Please don't."

Mizuha felt someone blow air next to her ear. She stopped walking and her hand flew up to her ear. "The hell was that?!" she asked while looking around.

"What was what?"

Suddenly, a head popped up from the ground. The first thing Mizuha registered was two eyes staring back at her. Kaminari let out the most unmanly shriek and ran behind Mizuha, holding onto her shoulders while peeking down. As for the girl, she just stared down at the head with widened eyes. They both just demonstrated the internal and external version of being scared.

Impressed, Mizuha squatted down in front of the head looked closely. "Whooaaaa… that's pretty cool though."

The black haired 1-B student nodded before sinking back down into the ground. Then a huge hand appeared in front of them, scaring Kaminari again and making Mizuha fall back on her rear. The hand was pointing ahead, as if to tell them to keep going. Mizuha quickly got up and followed the arm connecting the arm to the owner. Behind a bush, she found the class rep of Class 1-B smiling at her.

"Keep going." Kendo said.

"Okay, hold on." Mizuha turned around. She spotted Honenuki hiding behind a bush laughing at the blond boy.

She was certain _someone_ had approached her from behind to scare her. The girl popping out of the ground couldn't have done it and neither could have Honenuki or Kendo.

"Who just blew into my ear?"

As if they were summoned, Mokuen appeared in front of Mizuha and held up a peace sign.

"GAH!" Mizuha jumped and stepped back a couple of feet. She then regained her composure and poked her on the forehead. "I should have known. Only you move that fast in Class 1-B!"

Not bothered by the taller girl's gesture, Mokuen laughed heartily. "Yeah, yeah." She turned Mizuha around and ushered her forward. Then she ran back to fetch Kaminari to push him too. "You two run along and have fun."

The two classmates listened to the scare team and walked side by side once again.

They were left alone in silent darkness.

Mizuha smirked and looked at Kaminari. "Well, you've heard and made your own girly scream in one shot. Congratulations." she clapped her hands while chuckling.

"Be quiet."

* * *

 **I was going to end it on a little cliffhanger but I decided not to after thinking it over. I actually wrote the last part twice since I had a hard time deciding who Mizuha should be partnered with (Kaminari or Jiro) and as you can see I chose the first.**

 **Alright, weekly updates are coming back for sure this time!** **(￣□￣)**


	14. Chapter 14: Training Camp IV

Even if she was someone who was constantly surrounded by the cold thanks to her Quirk, the night's breeze would always find a way to make her shiver sometimes, even during the summer. Mizuha stared up at the moon as she walked next to Kaminari. It had been a while since their last scare, they were probably getting close to whatever they were supposed to be arriving at if no one was jumping out of the darkness to frighten them. They could only hear their occasional chatter and the leaves rustling in the wind, nothing else was sounding in the dark forest.

"This path is pretty long…" Kaminari began complaining. The lack of scares was probably boring him now.

She patted his shoulder.

"Hang in there, blondie," Mizuha stopped walking. "We're probably…" she sniffed the air. Odd. Why did it smell like something was burning? Burnt wood?

"… You smell that too?"

"Yeah."

Mizuha brushed her nose with her forefinger. If it was a simple forest fire that was starting to grow, it would be best to extinguish the fire while it was still controllable. An easy task for Mizuha and another opportunity to manipulate her liquid form. Perhaps Pixie-Bob, Mandaly and Tiger have also noticed the fire from their distance. As Mizuha looked up, something that she didn't notice before caught her attention. The light emitting from where the fire supposedly was, it was blue. Blue flames? She muttered the same words under her breath and was getting more confused by the second. There's no way a student from the scaring team would purposely light the forest on fire as a scare tactic. Todoroki wouldn't start a random fire while knowing it could be dangerous for those around him.

If it wasn't someone from her school, then who—

"Oi! Mizuha!" Kaminari grabbed her shoulder. "Look!" he pointed ahead of them.

The girl wasted no time looking as she heard the alarming tone in his voice. It was definitely dark, but they could make out something appearing before them, it was flowing towards them. She pulled out her phone and quickly turned on her flashlight, directing it at the suspicious fog.

It was purple fog.

The fire setting the forest ablaze and the fog slithering towards them. It was basically screaming at her that something wasn't right. There was danger.

Mizuha didn't bother turning off her phone's flashlight and shoved it back in her pants' right pocket. She turned around and pushed Kaminari as she started dashing back where they came from.

"We have to get out of here! Whatever that fog is… we shouldn't be near it!"

As they ran back, Mizuha started to dread the possible outcome. The path they had just walked was a long one, wasn't it? She really hated thinking of the possibility of not being able to make it back. Just as she thought of that, she thought of her four classmates that went on ahead and those in the scare team who were still hiding in the dark.

She coughed and started feeling dizzy. She stumbled and nearly fell from the lack of orientation for a second. Hearing her fall behind, Kaminari stopped in his tracks. "You okay?!"

It was the fog. It had to be. Mizuha quickly got back up on her feet and urged him to keep running with her. "Don't breathe it in." she warned, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand. The blond boy copied her and continued running. They could see it; the fog was spreading faster and it was right in front of them now.

Suddenly, something went through their minds. It was almost like static shock.

 _ **Everyone! We're being attacked by two Villains! It's possible that there are more! Everyone who can move, get back to camp immediately! Even if you come across the enemy, retreat and do not engage!**_

That was Mandalay's voice. She used her Telepathy Quirk.

"Are you kidding me?!" Kaminari freaked. "Wasn't the whole point of changing location to avoid coming into contact with Villains?!"

"Stop yelling and save your breath, you idiot!" she shouted at him behind her hand.

It was just like USJ, the villains knew where they were again.

 _"Wait... how did they know we would be here?!" She asked harshly, narrowing her eyes threateningly at the group of villains advancing towards them. "If this is so well coordinated... then they must have gotten information. The schedule was leaked somehow!"_

 _Todoroki glanced at her, "... that might be a possibility."_

Mizuha narrowed her eyes. It was leaked again. There had to be someone at USJ who was leaking their information to the other side. She saw no other possibility other than that. It just had to be it or else they wouldn't be stuck in this mess again.

As they raced down the path through the darkness, they came across Jiro and Hagakure, the team behind them. They weren't looking too good. They were both on the ground, on their knees and most likely suffering from the gas.

"Don't stop! You have to keep going!" Mizuha shouted at them as they came closer. Weakly, the two girls looked at them.

"Kaminari…? Mizuha…?" Jiro managed to say.

Said classmates wasted no time in helping the two girls up on their feet. Jiro was still able to keep walking but Hagakure could not since she inhaled more than what her lungs could handle. Kaminari had to carry her on his back as they ran back. Their speed slowed down but they were still able to run. Mizuha kept a firm grip on Jiro's wrist as they ran, reassuring that she would be alright if they kept going on. It was also to make sure that the shorter girl didn't fall behind.

Mizuha glanced at Hagakure on Kaminari's back. If the gas was poisonous… then other students who inhaled it would be rendered to that state as well. And they would still be inhaling it no matter what if they were stuck in the fog.

She clenched her free hand tightly into a fist as she thought once more of the possibility of a 1-B student being stuck in that mess.

* * *

Byakuren gave the others a foxy smile and was ignoring the fact that his classmates were glaring at him. They obviously weren't happy that a member of remedial squad was going to be liberated early. They were bitter towards him.

When Aizawa slid the door open, they were greeted by a familiar blond haired boy. "Oh, that's weird! Even though Class A is supposed to be better, these were the five people who failed? While Class B only had a singly one! THAT'S SO WEIRD!"

"What is your malfunction?!" Sero yelled.

Byakuren tilted his head innocently and smiled. "It doesn't change the fact that you're in the same boat as us." He said cheerfully. "You still failed."

The five students all walked in together. None wanted to take a seat next to the odd blond… except for Byakuren. As Monoma laughed, the white haired boy dropped himself in the seat next to him and continued smiling. He was in a too good of a mood and he wasn't about to let the 1-B student damper it by irritating with his one-sided rivalry. Instead he wanted to dump rain on _his_ parade.

Byakuren threw an arm around his shoulders. "Man, where did you mind go, Monoma-kun~?" he asked cheerfully before opening his eyes threateningly and holding up a harmless fist. "Shall I find it for you?" he suggested.

This made the blond gulp. Despite Monoma's big talk, he did feel somewhat intimidated by Class 1-A. It was no secret that the A students were impressive in skill and strength. Monoma quickly shoved his arm off his person and narrowed his eyes. "Don't get friendly with me!"

Byakuren laughed boyishly and rubbed the back of his neck, changing his demeanor in an instant. He looked almost angelic. "It's warning 'cause you irritate me."

Ashido sweatdropped. "There it is…"

"Two-faced prince." Sero whispered.

"But anyway, I'm only staying for half the time, since I've been doing well… better than you Monoma-kun~" he bragged.

Said boy started to sizzle in his chair.

"Kyouran, enough." Class 1-A's homeroom teacher said while walking towards his colleague. Without another word, Byakuren closed his mouth and hummed happily.

"Vlad, I want to add some practice maneuvers this time."

"I was thinking about that, too. You don't have to tell me that—"

 _ **Everyone!**_

Byakuren tilted his head again at the voice inside his head. Kirishima looked up at nothing in particular. "It's Mandalay's Telepath."

Ashido held her bare arms and smiled. "I like this! It makes me jump."

Byakuren twisted around his his chair to look at the girl behind him. He grinned. "Too bad no one has a telepath Quirk. It would be cool to use it to scare Class 1-B."

Ashido nodded in agreement. "True!" she laughed.

"Quiet." Aizawa ordered, holding a hand up to his head.

 _ **We're being attacked by two Villains! It's possible that there are more! Everyone who can move, get back to camp immediately! Even if you come across the enemy, retreat and do not engage!**_

Byakuren's smile dropped instantly. "Again…?"

"Huh? Why are villains here…? Wasn't this place supposed to be a secret?" Monoma wondered while asking his homeroom teacher.

"Vlad, I'm leaving this place to you." Aizawa immediately said before turning around and dashing out the door. "I'll go protect the other students!"

Just as Aizawa left, Byakuren pushed his seat back and stood up.

"Kyouran—" Vlad tried to tell him to not follow after his teacher if was planning to but he cut himself off when Byakuren walked past him and towards the windows of the room. As the white haired boy peered through the glass, he could see the forest on fire by blue flames. He placed his hands on the frame of the window and observed the world, he became increasingly worried about his friends outside. He ignored all the noise in the room that was caused by the worried talking of those around him. Not only was he worried about those who were outside but he was concerned about his dear friend. The incident, the entrance exam and USJ. She tried to save those who were in danger. He was worried she was going to do it again and probably get caught in a mess, especially in that forest.

"Iida!"

Byakuren turned around and found his class rep, Koda, Mineta and Ojiro all gathered in front of the door. Pixie-Bob was out of commission, Tiger and Mandalay were fighting two villains at the previous spot and the fire. Information was being relayed to them thanks to Iida.

 ** _Everyone in Class A and Class B! In the name of the Pro Hero, Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat! I repeat, Everyone in Class A and Class B! You are granted permission to engage in combat!_**

 **SLAM!**

Everyone turned their heads at the sudden sound of the window slamming open. They were just in time to see Byakuren climb out of the window and fly into the air. Iida called out his name to try and stop him while Vlad tried grabbing onto his ankle just before he flew out the window. However, Byakuren forced himself higher in the air and avoided getting caught. He barely felt fingertips brush against his ankle.

"Kyouran, get back inside!" Vlad ordered firmly. The other students inside were also by the window, watching Byakuren going against the Class 1-B teacher's orders.

Byakuren stopped himself and turned to look at the teacher. "I won't get in trouble." He promised to the homeroom teacher and continued flying away. Vlad's instructions fell on deaf ears.

Just a moment ago, Mandalay said to avoid engaging the villains in battle but now suddenly she's telling them that Aizawa-sensei is giving them permission to fight right after the left the room. Does that mean that they weren't certain if they could protect them? Somehow, Byakuren couldn't help but feel like something bad was happening.

* * *

As soon as they made it closer to the clearing, the fog was no longer reaching them. That meant they could all breathe easy now.

"Finally…! We made it!" Kaminari exclaimed, relieved.

They still had to be careful though, just up ahead was Tiger and Mandalay who were fighting two villains. To avoid getting in their way, they all decided it was best to simply circle around to get back to the camp site. They had to be extremely careful of their surroundings too, Mandalay did say that there was a possibility that more villains were hiding in the forest with them.

By now Mizuha had let go of Jiro, who seemed much better now that she was away from the gas. But she was a little worried that the shorter had inhaled too much since she kept coughing a little behind her hand. Mizuha stopped in her tracks and looked back at the dark path they just came from. She was still thinking about those who were hiding in the dark. She knew that keeping herself out of harm's way was important but what about those who couldn't do anything to help themselves? What was she supposed to do? What if that gas was poisonous and deadly? What if the fire had blocked someone's path? What if—

"… Mizuha!"

She blinked back to reality and peered over her shoulder, her eyes wide from being surprised. Jiro was the one calling her, Kaminari was standing behind her also wondering why she had stopped. While she was busy worrying, she figured Jiro and Kaminari decided to switch turns in carrying Hagakure since the invisible girl was longer on the blond's back.

"What's wrong?" Jiro asked. "We need to hurry back to camp!" she reminded Mizuha.

"… I know but." Mizuha turned back around and stared into the darkness.

 _Am I seriously about to do this again? We're running away because that's what we should be doing… but…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Are you fucking kidding me? Damn it._

Just as Mizuha was about to take a step forward, two hands stopped her from advancing. One on her wrist and another on her shoulder, Jiro and Kaminari.

"You can't go back there!"

"She's right, that could be dangerous!"

Mizuha closed her eyes and sighed. She pried their hands off of her and looked at them with a small grin. "It's fine. I'm just going to check if any nearby needs help getting out of there. You guys bring Hagakure back to camp. I'll be back, no worries."

 _You have the mark of someone who is willing to face danger for the sake of others. The mark of someone who will go against the worst odds for the sake of others. The mark of someone who is capable of self-sacrifice._

Oh, how annoying it was to be aware of something she couldn't really control.

Without another word, Mizuha waved at them and dashed back into the forest and ignored Jiro's shout for her. The girl breathed in as much oxygen as she could as she ran; she had her phone out to illuminate her path. However, despite the light, she wasn't even looking at what was in front of her feet and immediately tripped over it. Her phone fell to the ground and slid a couple of feet away. Her body crashed towards the ground and she groaned in pain. She was running way too fast. Her hand moved to help herself get back up but was confused when she felt something that didn't feel like earth. It was an item. Curious, she picked it up and looked at it closely.

It was an abandoned gas mask. How convenient.

Needless to say, she put it on as quickly as she could.

 _Maybe Yaoyorozu made these when she became aware of the gas. She's a quick thinker._

 ** _Everyone in Class A and Class B! In the name of the Pro Hero, Eraserhead, you are granted permission to engage in combat! I repeat, Everyone in Class A and Class B! You are granted permission to engage in combat!_**

"I don't think that's a good sign…" Mizuha muttered.

Mizuha picked up her phone from the ground and continued running, at least she wouldn't have to worry about the gas while she tried looking for someone. While keeping in mind that gas masks' filters don't last forever, she made sure to look quickly. Her light was pointed in different directions as she kept searching for anyone who needed help. She even tried calling out for someone if they were still conscious.

For a moment, she saw a hand poking out from behind a tree. She stopped herself before she walked past it. Mizuha gasped and went around the large tree. It was someone from the other class. She found a boy with spiky lavender colored hair. She tried calling for his attention by shaking him, but he didn't respond. He was out of it thanks to the fog.

"Damn it… he can't keep breathing this in."

Mizuha removed her gas mask and hastily gave it to the boy after tucking her phone away in her pocket. Once she made sure it was properly on him, she maneuvered him onto her back and started running back.

Byakuren, who was told by Jiro and Kaminari about Mizuha's whereabouts, quickly searched for her. His light purple hues widened. He was in luck. His eyes followed after the figure running back where he came from. When he moved closer below, he saw Mizuha carrying someone on her back. He turned around in the air and lowered himself to the ground while covering his mouth. It looked like she was carrying the 1-B student he fought during the Sports Festival. His name was Jushima Jinryo.

"Mizuha!"

Hearing the sound of his voice made her stomp her foot on the ground to stop herself. She turned around and found him jogging towards her while covering his face. That was good. He was aware of the gas.

"Jiro and Kaminari told me you came back in here."

"Yeah, I went to check if someone needed help," she adjusted Jushima on her back. "and as you can see this guy needed it."

 ** _One of the villains' targets has been identified! It's the student known as 'Kacchan'! 'Kacchan' should try to avoid combat and acting independently. Understand, 'Kacchan'?!_**

Byakuren gritted his teeth. "So _that's_ why. The students were targets… that's why we've been permitted to fight. It's to defend ourselves." He clenched his fists tightly.

The white haired boy started coughing. Mizuha grew worried for him and reminded him to cover his mouth and nose from the gas, reaching a hand up to push his palm on his face. However, she wasn't doing much better, the only protection she had from it was her shirt that was stretched up towards her face and covering her nose and mouth. Her worry was reciprocated when Byakuren removed Jushima's gas mask.

"He needs that! Stop!" She tried fighting him to get it back.

Byakuren wordlessly placed it around her face and then took Jushima from her. She blinked in surprise.

"Byakuren…"

"I'll bring him back to the camp by flying back. It'll be easier that way for all of us."

"Uh…" Mizuha slowly nodded her head.

"And," he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I want you to go back to camp. Now."

She frowned. Now that the big reveal of Bakugo being a targeted was out in the open, she wasn't going to lie and say that she didn't want to help and make sure he didn't get taken away. But she had no idea where he was and she couldn't stay too long in with her gas filter dying.

"Wait, I need to do something first."

"What?! Are you serious?" Byakuren held her shoulder tighter. Mizuha pried his hand off her shoulder and pointed at the light coming from deeper in the forest. It was the blue fire that was slowly spreading, burning the trees and everything around it.

"If this continues to spread, then it'll block off the paths of those who are trying to get back to camp." She explained to him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'll just stop it and then I'll head back, okay?" she wanted him to agree with her so that he could hurry up and leave the gas area. She wanted him to stop breathing in something dangerous.

Byakuren stared at her for a moment. He could continue to try and convince her into coming back to camp, but just like he did with Vlad's instructions, she probably wouldn't listen to him. He reached out a hand and grabbed the back of her head while lowering himself. She yelped when she was brought closer and was then at the same eye level as her friend. She stared at him eyes wide with surprise.

"You take out the fire. If there's any danger, fight only the _defend_ yourself. Nothing else. You _retreat_ , got it?"

He was serious with worry. If she didn't come back at the time he expected her to be back at, he was coming back for her and dragging her back to camp if he had to.

"I understand." the girl replied, her hand reaching behind her head to hold his, tightly. As if sealing a promise.

Byakuren removed his hand away from her and then wordlessly propelled himself in the air with Jushima on his back, flying upwards where the gas couldn't reach. Mizuha watched him leave her sights before lowering her head back to face the blue light. Mizuha ran towards it and wasted no time in calling upon her water to extinguish it, she was also making sure to soak the areas she thought could still catch fire while she wasn't looking. By then she already noticed that the gas was dispersing, probably because someone took out the villain responsible for it. She grabbed her gas mask and threw it on the ground once she found no use for it. The wall of fire started to reduce in length when Mizuha continued down her right. She'd have to turn back and continue down the left to take out the fire since she had started from the middle.

…

…

…

"So, _you're_ the one extinguishing my fire."

Mizuha stopped. The voice was literally right in front of her.

She whipped her head up and found herself at least a few meters away from a person, a guy specifically. He was tall and he looked pretty young. Long spiky hair that hung over his eyes that reminded her of one of Todoroki's eye color. The blue flames seemed to make his turquoise eyes glow in the dark. However, the most noticeable thing one this person's body was the fact that most of his skin was purple along with some stitches.

 _He's a villain… right?_

Next to him was a guy dressed in a body suit and he pointed at her. "Dabi, you were right!"

Mizuha took a step back.

"Yeah, I was right." The scarred individual narrowed his eyes at her. "And we can't have exposing our evacuation point."

 _FUCK RUN!_

"Oi, get up. It's time for you to do your job." was all she heard Dabi say before she started bolting away from them.

"She's getting away!" Twice exclaimed. "She's not too far!"

Dabi watched her retreating form with dull eyes. "Not for long." the scarred man produced more blue flames to put up another wall of fire except that this time it wasn't going out. He didn't even flinch when a blade flew past his head.

The girl skidded to her side when she saw the blade pierce the ground next to her. She gasped but didn't look back to check if someone was running up behind her. Instead she forced a pillar of ice to shoot her upwards, away from the ground. Then she made a wave of water appear beneath her to transport her away faster. She needed to get away fast and return to the camp just like Byakuren had told her to. She couldn't take out the fire like she wanted to.

A blade flew up in front of her.

Mizuha stopped moving and glanced up at the knife. As if time slowed down, she watched carefully when the blade stopped moving upwards and then the tip began to point downward. Then, a beam of light flew towards it. It happened in an instant, a guy appeared out of nowhere and was grinning widely above her. He raised his leg and kicked her downwards. Mizuha was only able to raise up her arms in front of her until she felt herself get flung back towards the ground when his leg made contact with her.

She was falling.

Mizuha brought her knees up to her chest and immediately encased herself in ice and hardened it as strongly as she could. She felt the collision against several tree branches before finally landing on the ground. The ice saved her but it shattered upon impact. Mizuha found herself on her back when she came out of her ice shell. She blinked and noticed the villain above her. He was falling, dropping down in her direction. With a groan, she quickly rolled away just in time to avoid getting landed on. The girl forced herself on her feet and got into a defensive stance, ready to guard against anything they might throw at her. It was already clear they weren't going to let her escape but she didn't want to fight against them either. She wanted to avoid a confrontation as much as possible.

He straightened up and held several knives in between his fingers and they glistened underneath the moonlight. A maniacal grin was stretched across his face as he faced her. Somehow, the fact that his eyes were hidden under his long bangs just seemed to make his appearance even more dangerous to Mizuha.

"Not to kill… of course… Impossible… she is very precious." She couldn't make out all the words he was saying since he was mumbling. Then he was staring at her. He tossed a knife it the air, it spun around a few times. He grabbed the handle and pointed it at her. "Hyoumei Mizuha." He identified her.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes. She shouldn't be surprised.

 _All of U.A's students have had their names exposed to everyone thanks to the Sports Festival._

He looked around and his grin disappeared. He pouted and titled his head. "Ah… I brought us here of all places…" then he began muttering under his breath and Mizuha couldn't hear anything from her spot.

She didn't like the vibe coming from him. It was making her feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Mizuha then took a few steps away from the villain when he took several few towards her. "Ne, ne! That means… it would be okay to take you too, right?! If I can stall… then Dabi could let me bring you with us!"

 _Take me…?_

 _With them…?_

 _No… no… no…_

 _I don't want that!_

"That would be great," He chuckled and threw the knives in his right hand at her. "RIGHT?!"

The knives were deflected by a wall of ice and some found itself pierced into the ice. She was about to flee once more but then she heard something land on top of her ice wall. With widened eyes, she looked up and found the villain looking down on her with his large grin.

"Peek-a-boo!"

"Get away from me!" Mizuha screamed before making her ice wall produce several ice spikes poking out in different directions, hoping to at least injure the villain to give her enough time to run away and find safety.

To her horror, he was nimble enough to avoid the spikes without jumping away. With a laugh, he grabbed onto the sides of two of them and flipped himself over her little wall. Without even thinking, Mizuha stomped her foot on the ground and swung her arm up. And just like during the Entrance Exams, an immense rampart rose up between them. It even past the height of the tress and the fire wall combined.

Mizuha turned around her heel and dashed into the forest.

 _I need to move! I need to tell Aizawa-sensei where they're meeting up… If I can tell him then—_

As soon as she left the villain's evacuation spot, she heard her ice shattering and falling down to the ground, rumbling the earth shattered against the ground. It sent a shiver up her spine knowing that the only thing keeping her away from knife holding villain was gone. The fear made her run faster and faster into the forest.

 _I need to hurry!_

A sound echoed behind her, the sound of lightning. A sudden beam of light zoomed past her head and it stopped in front of the tree she was about to run past. In an instant, the tree was set ablaze. Mizuha let out a shout, frightened by the sudden fire.

 _… Lightning…?! He uses lightning?!_

Mizuha barely had time to react.

 _Then those knives that he carries—!_

She felt someone grab the back of her collar and slammed her down on the ground. She was pulled so harshly that her shirt choked her. It didn't help that she landed on a tree root.

"Gah!" she shut her eyes and winced.

When she opened her eyes, she felt panic rush throughout her body. It was not going well for her at all. He was too fast and hoping to ever return to camp seemed futile at the moment. The villain moved his hand over her head and grinned widely as he pressed it to the ground, he moved closer to her face until his long bangs brushed against her nose.

"Lights out."

He pulled his face away from her and she saw him lift up his hand. Lightning was sparking around it.

"Stop—!"

She felt him land his hand on her abdomen.

Mizuha never screamed so much in her entire life.

* * *

Dabi narrowed his eyes at the grinning man in front of him. "I thought I told you our target was Bakugo."

Unconscious, Mizuha was back where she tried running away from. Their little meet up site. After getting knocked out from the attack, the grinning villain dragged her back and watched over her body as she remained immobile. Oddly enough, he was sitting next to her while twirling a piece of her hair around his finger.

The sand brown haired male frowned at Dabi's unpleasant attitude towards him. "But you said I could take her."

"I never said that, you idiot."

"I'll assume you did."

He ignored him and faced the female villain. "You lunatic, did you get the blood? How many people's worth?"

"One person's worth!"

"Just one?!" Twice exclaimed and approached her. "Weren't you told to get at least three?!"

"It couldn't be helped. I thought I was going to get killed."

…

…

…

 _I hear voices around me. I don't recognize any of them. What happened to me?_

Mizuha was slowly gaining back her consciousness after getting knocked out for a few minutes. She could feel to remnants of the pain that coursed throughout her body. Her right index finger twitched, gaining more control over her body now that she was getting pulled back to reality. Her eyelids unveiled the onyx hues, exposing them to the sight of someone looking down at her. Her eyes widened by a fraction before she a recollection of earlier events came rushing back into her mind. She moved away in attempt to run, to create distance between her and that person.

"Ah, ah! Wait!"

Her hair was pulled back forcefully and she found herself back on the ground, on her back. Her hair was grasped in a fistful of the villain's hands. Like a doll, he moved her around couple of times until she was standing up. His grip on her hair did not loosen at all.

"My dearest, please don't move. I have to convince Dabi in letting me take you back with us." He whispered into her ear. The feeling of his lips brushing against it made her recoil in disgust. She just wanted to smash his face in the closest tree.

"Daaabi!"

"She's _not_ hitching a ride."

As soon as the grinning villain started feeling a chill around Mizuha's body, he didn't hesitate to make her taste his lightning again. Her body jolted from his Quirk but she didn't scream this time, she kept quiet and withheld the urge.

 _It burns… It hurts._

Twice moved to take a good look at Mizuha, who was barely standing if not for the hold on her hair. Her eyes were practically half-lidded. "Why do you want this girl so much, Light?"

The villain addressed as Light only grinned wider. "She's like me."

Twice dropped his fist in his palm. "I get it!" he placed a hand on his waist and used the other to scratch his head. "I don't understand."

Toga skipped over to them while giggling. "Hyoumei is so cute!"

"Isn't she?!" Light laughed.

To all the other villains, Light's interest in Mizuha seemed to have made sense with those three words. Meanwhile, the girl could only stare at the ground, extremely confused but then she felt her anger start to bubble up inside. He was saying she was like him? A villain? The audacity to even associate her to such a thing got her pissed. Why the hell would he say that?

Her eyes widened when she saw a needle shine.

She breathed in a shaky breath.

"LET ME GO!" A blast of cold air swirled around Mizuha. She was aiming for a temperature that was even lower than what she was normally used to. Something dangerous even for her, something close to absolute zero.

Light pulled away his hand and kicked her away from him just in the nick of time. Twice and Toga almost moved away from her.

"I… I'm like you? … Don't fucking kid yourself. I'm _nothing_ like you."

Her breath came out in visible white puffs.

She helped herself up on her feet, shivering as she did so. As she looked at the four villains, she was able to understand one thing. Compared to Light, Dabi and the others didn't seem quite interested in her. The black haired villain didn't care about the idea of making her tag along. She could still try to run now that she was free. However, the effects of being almost as cold as absolute zero wouldn't get her very far.

"No wonder you keep pestering me." Dabi rolled his eyes before turning away and looking up at the sky.

"Oh."

Mizuha's hair flew in her face as something landed on the ground behind her, shaking the ground beneath her feet.

 _What the hell was that?_

"Give Kacchan and Tokoyami back!" A familiar voice screamed.

When she turned around, she found Todoroki, Midoriya and Shoji pinning down a man, a villain most likely.

She felt hope. She's wasn't alone anymore.

"Mister, get out of the way." Dabi's voice warned behind her, extending his hand.

"Roger!" answered the addressed man before glowing blue and disappearing before everyone.

Mizuha clenched her teeth and slightly glanced behind her shoulder. Dabi's left arm directed his blue flames towards her classmates and in the same direction she was standing in. It was a close call but she was able to move away from the fire and somehow warm up from her self-induced cold due to the close proximity.

As they jumped away, they caught a glimpse of Mizuha who also moved away from the fire.

"Hyoumei-san?!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"Come back~"

With an angered look, she whipped around and made her ice race towards Light who was trying to get to her again. This time, Light tossed a blade into the air. He disappeared in a flash of light.

 _I'm not falling for that again!_

The blade changed direction and moved directly towards her. She made sort of ice glove around her right hand and used it to knock away the blade and send it flying somewhere else. The blade harmlessly slid against the ground away from her. In an instant, Light landed next to it while kneeling down. He picked up the knife and whistled.

"You're so smart!" He grinned waving the knife happily.

Suddenly, ice zoomed in front of her and created a wall between them. It was not hers. Todoroki called out her name and starting running with Shoji and Midoriya. Without wasting another second, she bolted after them as fast as she could. Suddenly, they saw a large figure approaching and coming out of the shadows of the forest. It was a Nomu. If there was anything they learned from USJ, it was that a Nomu was not something they could take on lightly. It was dangerous. When they turned to the right, a black vortex opened up in front of them. A vortex that were very familiar with. It stopped them in their tracks when they recognized what it was. It was the same warp gate that was present during the USJ incident. With glowing yellow eyes, the villain stared down at them.

"It has been five minutes since the signal." It spoke.

Four more vortexes opened up near the villains.

They were retreating.

"Wait, our goal is not yet—"

"Oh, that?" Mister Compress turned around. "They seemed so happy that they rushed out here, so I thought I'd give them a present. It's a habit, one of the basics of magic." He reached for his mask and started removing it. "When I flaunt something, it's because there's something I don't want you to see."

He stuck out his tongue and revealed two blue shinning marbles.

The two marbles that Shoji was holding revealed that he was only carrying ice when the villain release it.

 _Just a minute ago, Midoriya was yelling at him to give back Bakugo and Tokoyami. They have them? The marbles that Shoji was holding… were they supposed to be in there? Then… in his mouth…_

They all ran as fast as they could to stop Mister Compress before it was too late. As the villain bowed down, a blue beam shot his mask off. His mask broke and he spit out the two marbles out of his mouth. The beam came from behind a bush somewhere in a far corner. It was Aoyama.

As the marbles flew out of his mouth, they all ran faster and leaped with an outstretched hand, everyone except for Mizuha. She found herself pulled back by the back of her shirt and shoved back on the ground. After her, it was Midoriya's turn to stumble and fall to the ground after feeling the pain of his injuries.

Light grinned down at her. "Come now, you don't really I'd let you get in the way…"

 _This son of a…_

A pool of water formed next to Mizuha's right hand and gathered together to create a shape. It turned into an ice blade. With a shout, she swung her arm upwards. Light let out a small 'oof' before leaning away from her attack. She got on her knees and threw her ice creation at him. He side stepped and pounced. He brought his fist down on her but it collided and went through a wall of ice she summoned up. Mizuha was barely able to avoid his fist that she noticed was enveloped in lightning. Then she released a huge wave of water onto him to push him further away from her. Concerned about the fate of the blue marbles, she looked back and witnessed Todoroki roll in the dirt a couple of times and Dabi holding up a blue marble.

Dabi looked at his ally. "Confirm it. Release this."

Mister Compress move further back into the warp gate but not without snapping his fingers, revealing the results. The marble in Shoji's hand glowed and released Tokoyami. Dabi opened his hand when Bakugo came out of the marble. He wrapped his hand around his neck.

Then they were gone.

With the forest set ablaze with blue fire and the failure of trying to save Bakugo from the League of Villains, Midoriya let out a pained scream of defeat. Aoyama came out of his hiding spot after witnessing Bakugo's successful capture and he started walking towards Midoriya who wouldn't stop screaming. Shoji, Tokoyami and Todoroki were all doing the same in attempt to try and calm down the green haired boy.

Mizuha's eyes left Midoriya's figure and they landed on the blue dancing flames, it was like the painful reminder of their failure.

 _What's going to happen now?_

"Light, I _will_ leave you here _right now_ if you don't return."

It was the warp gate's voice.

"Yeah, yeah… just let me get her."

Two villains were still present.

 _He's right behind me..._

"Hyoumei-san!" Shoji tried to get to her but he was stopped when several knives landed in front of him. Midoriya also tried to get up but his injuries left him unable to move, practically paralyzed.

Light was standing behind her with his mean for escape right behind him _and_ Mizuha. His hand firmly grabbed her throat, he was choking her. Todoroki moved without hesitation. The dual-colored haired boy used his ice and made it rush in Light's direction, hoping to free his friend. The sand brown haired villain huffed and with a wave of his hand he shattered the ice with a strike of lightning.

Tokoyami couldn't do much, not with Dark Shadow being engulfed in the night's darkness and the lightning.

Mizuha thrashed around while trying to get away from Light, specifically from the warp gate. Her fingers were digging into Light's skin until she was starting to draw blood and she was starting to freeze his fingers. It didn't do much but it was able to weaken his hold enough for her to speak.

 ** _"STOP IT! I DON'T WANT TO GO WITH YOU!"_**

Light froze.

...

...

...

With a harsh shove, Mizuha found herself stumbling forward and tripping over her own feet. Todoroki, who was on his way to help her with a fistful of fire, stopped his Quirk and caught her she before she fell to the ground. Confused and still shaking from the fear of getting taken away, she moved away as much as she could from the villain while keeping a firm grip on Todoroki's arm and his jacket with both her hands, shaking. Her eyes were wide from the shock.

The students were confused.

The last thing she saw was his wicked grin.

 _"Maybe next time then."_

He waved at her cheerfully before disappearing in the black vortex.

* * *

 **And there we go! The end of the Training Camp Arc. I had issues with this chapter since I kept changing it. At first, I was going to have Mizuha get captured along with Bakugo but I realized that it wouldn't change anything since I was just going to have her jump out of the hole that All Might made into the wall. I just needed to introduce Light and his interest in Mizuha. Also, I changed a tiny thing in the previous chapter and that is the way how others would address Mizuha (first name and last name).**

 **Anyway, please tell me what you thought about this chapter in a review!**


	15. Chapter 15: Fear

_It was dark and cold._

 _I could barely see where I was going as I ran in the dark forest. I called out for someone to hear me, to help me. I needed help. I didn't want to be alone. His laugh echoed behind me as if taunting me and showing me that escape was futile. My adrenaline was pumping as I ran, I didn't even know where I was going anymore. I just wanted to find a place where I wouldn't be found._

 _"Where do you think you're going~?"_

 _No, no, no, no._

 _Out of nowhere, someone walked out from behind a tree that was in my path. Black hair and purple stitches. It was him. Dabi._

 _I didn't stop running but he merely stood in my path._

 _Before I could even make it past him, a wall of blue flames rose and blocked all my possible paths. With a gasp, I stopped myself before I came into contact with the fire._

 _I desperately tried removing the fire with my water, but it just wouldn't go out._

 _I could see Dabi grinning sadistically whenever I caught a glimpse of his face after the fire danced in different directions. "Oi, hurry up and do your job." His face was then hidden once more by his blue flames._

 _"Mizuha… HYOUMEI."_

 _I turned around and found myself cornered. He was standing right before me with a knife in his right hand._

 _Light kicked me down and then covered my mouth with the same hand. The handle of his knife was pressed roughly against my lips and the blade found itself right between my eyes. The cool blade rested against my forehead._

 _No matter how much I tried to scream and shout, nothing came out. She wanted to call out for someone to help… but it was all muffled._

 _Light showed me his left hand and I saw the lightning sparking around it._

 _My eyes widened in fear._

 _He brought his face closer to mine and grinned maliciously._

 _Not again! Please! Stop!_

Mizuha's eyes shot open and she jolted. Her sight was met with darkness, she started to panic a little because of it and started sitting up. To her surprise, she found herself in a place she didn't recognize. Now that her eyes were adjusting, she realized it wasn't completely dark. When she set her eyes on the large window on her right, she saw that the skies weren't dark. It was starting to become brighter outside. When she looked around the room she was in, she finally realized she was in a hospital room.

"… Right, I passed out on the way to the hospital." she muttered to herself while looking at her clothes under the white bed cover.

...

...

...

 _After Light disappeared in a pool of darkness, Mizuha let out a shaky breath. However, her shaking didn't stop, it was probably going to take a while before it did._

 _Todoroki looked at her as she still held onto him. "They were after you, too?"_

 _Slowly, Mizuha let go of him with her shaky hands. Her eyes darted around, keeping an eye out for the villains if they came back. "_ _Not exactly… that guy wanted to bring me along but another kept telling him no. They were definitely after Bakugo."_

 _Not even a second later, two girls came running out of the darkness. It was Tsuyu and Uraraka. Apparently, they were the reason why the guys came dropping in all of sudden. They arrived after finally catching up with them. When Midoriya's screams continued to echo, the others around him tried to calm him down. They couldn't do much until they heard Mandalay's telepathy once more for the final time that night. She was ordering everyone to return to the camp right away. They all obeyed. They needed to tell the adults what happened to Bakugo, that they were unable to prevent his capture. Shoji had to carry Midoriya on his back since the boy was in pain._

 _She didn't exactly know when she started feeling the pain but she soon found herself slowing down when walking next to Todoroki. The boy noticed this and peered over his shoulder before stopping in his tracks altogether. Mizuha shut her eyes as she felt something, it was like climbing up._

 _Then she hurriedly pulled out a tissue from her pocket and started coughing into it._

 _This caught everyone's attention._

 _"Are you okay?" Tokoyami was the first to ask._

 _Mizuha pulled the tissue away from her face and stared at it. It wasn't as clear due to the dark, but she could clearly make out the dark marks that didn't look normal. She took a step back where the moonlight shone down and it revealed the true color of the mark._

 _Mizuha grimaced. "Blood."_

 _"Is it from the gas?" Todoroki held her hand and lowered it to see before looking at her._

 _"… Maybe." she pulled away her wrist to shove away her tissue back in her pocket. She wasn't about to wave it around like flag._

 _"We should really hurry back to camp." the short green haired girl advised, concerned._

 _Fifteen minutes after the villains left, the emergency services that Vlad King called had finally arrived._

 _Mizuha had to be admitted to the hospital due to having internal damage and the poisonous gas that was still in her system._

 _..._

 _..._

 _..._

Heavily, she breathed out. It was all coming back to her now that she was healed. She was exhausted from whole incident and hurting from Light's attack that she could faintly remember hearing from the nurses that Recovery Girl was checking around the hospital for anyone who needed some healing. She was certain that she also passed by her room while she was out of it because she was actually feeling better. Unlike Jiro and Hagakure, she wasn't in such a bad condition even though she was surrounded by the gas much longer than them.

Mizuha's injuries was from the vicious attack she had to endure when Light struck her the first time. It was such a concentrated attack that it gave her internal damage, burns and almost gave her bone fractures. Mizuha and Midoriya were the only ones in the Class 1-A who were injured from direct attacks. The latter was the worse of the two though.

Recovery Girl was definitely making her life easier.

Mizuha started checking her body if anything such as a scar was left on her skin. Aside from childhood scars, she found none. How lucky.

She twisted her body until she was facing the window. Her eyes were fixed on a tree across from the hospital. Mindlessly, she looked at every detail with boredom. The leaves, the color green, the little birdie sitting on top of the branch. Anything to keep her mind off the horrific dream that she just dreamed of.

The girl dropped her head.

"Maybe I'll walk around…"

Mizuha slipped off her bed and the moment her skin touched the floor, she pulled her naked feet up and scowled. She shifted in her bed until the was facing the other side. On the left side of the bed were a pair of blue hospital slippers. The girl planted herself on her stomach and dropped her arms down, she slithered closer to the edge until her head could see under the bed. With one push, she slid the slippers to the other side. She grinned to herself when they both made it across.

On her way out of her room, she found her phone sitting on the night stand and brought it along with her.

She slid her door open and peeked out of her room. A nurse who passed by nearly made her scream out of fright from how close she was. The female nurse asked about how she was feeling and if she needed anything. Mizuha reassured her that she was fine and she just needed to walk a little bit. Instead of smiling to reassure, Mizuha could only nod and shake her head a couple of times.

It was 3 AM. Normally, people would be sleeping or trying to be going back to sleep but Mizuha wasn't feeling like it. Any sort of drowsiness was absent within her.

While aimlessly wandering, she passed by several Class 1-B students who were being treated for the gas they inhaled. Her feet stopped moving when she saw the name displayed next to a door. It was Jiro's room. Mizuha let out a sigh and ran her fingers in her hair, the more she saw the students of her school in this mess the more she was feeling upset and frustrated.

 _Why did this happen to us?_

She found Midoriya's room. After seeing his state that night, she was wondering how he was doing. Quietly, she opened his door and peeked into his room. Her eyes were glued on the treatment on his arms. Both his arms were wrapped in thick bandages and even his arms were hidden from being enveloped. He was still unconscious.

She frowned.

Mizuha closed his door to leave him alone and she continued wandering aimlessly around the hospital. She found a chair that was situated right in front of a window and just dropped herself in it.

She opened up her phone and checked out the current situation. There was no doubt that the news of the villain attack was now out in the open.

 _'The League of Villains attack again!'_

 _'U.A's carelessness!'_

 _'Questionable management in U.A!'_

 _'15 students in critical condition.'_

 _'Pussycats' Pixie-Bob suffers an injury to the head and Ragdoll is nowhere found.'_

 _'Three villains were arrested.'_

 _'Bakugo Katsuki has been kidnapped.'_

She lowered her phone and looked out the window. Her head gently leaned against the wall behind her. The training camp that everyone was looking forward to ended in the worst possible way. The memories of that night came rushing back to her. It really was terrible.

When she was about to move her phone into her other hand, she noticed that her free hand was shaking when she took hold of her device.

She kissed her teeth in annoyance.

 _… Why did that guy Light want to take me away too?_

There was no way she could forget his wicked grin as he left. It was like haunting her mind. Her dream was proof of it.

* * *

She didn't go back to sleep after her little walk. She simply dragged her feet back to her room and stayed on her phone the whole time. She spent most of her time updating herself on the current situation and how the public was taking the news. Sure, she was feeling bored but she didn't want to message anyone and disturb their sleep.

It was only after she ate that she was told that she was actually being discharged from the hospital since she was actually healed. A few other Class 1-B students were also being discharged the same day. In Class 1-A, it was just her.

Just to make sure, she called her mother since she was curious about if whether or not someone was planning on dropping by to visit.

 _"Shiran and I were planning to come in five hours. Why?"_

"You guys don't need to," Mizuha scratched the back of her head as she stared outside the window in her room. "Apparently, I'm being discharged today. So, I'll just head home."

 _"Wait, I'll tell dad to go pick you up. I don't want you going out by yourself just yet after what happened."_

"Ah, you knew about it?"

 _"Of course! It's their responsibility to tell me what—"_

Mizuha's head whipped towards the door when she heard two knocks resonate from it. Confused, she allowed whoever was waiting behind her door to come in. To her immense surprise, she found All Might and the same police man that was present during the aftermath of the USJ incident.

 _What was his name again? Something with a that started with the letter T._

 _Oh right, Tsukauchi._

"I gotta go… All Might and the police is in my room right now. I'll talk to you later." she quickly whispered into her phone before pulling it away from her ear and ending the call. She placed it next to her and gave the two adults her full attention.

The shorter man smiled kindly. "I hope we weren't bothering you."

Mizuha shook her head and waved her hand in front of her face. "No, no. It's fine."

It wasn't hard to guess what they wanted. They just wanted to ask a few questions regarding the incident. They heard that Mizuha was being permitted to leave and they decided to drop by her room first before they went to go see anyone else. When they questioned certain students, her name came up when it came to the topic of who was being targeted that night.

Mizuha folded her legs on the bed and rested her elbows on them. "The others referred to this villain as 'Light'."

"What do you remember about him?" Tsukauchi prodded her memory with his words.

Now that she was safe and calm, she actually tried to remember anything about Light. Back then, she was too busy trying to run away to even observe the villain and anyway he was way too fast for her to actually keep her eyes on him.

"… I couldn't really remember anything else but that he mostly kept grinning and um… I couldn't see his eyes," she waved her hand in front of her bangs. "His hair was covering them. He had messy sand brown hair. So I couldn't really see his face."

She paused her hand and lowered her eyes. She felt a ghost like feeling of his hand on her body. With a frown, she placed a hand on her abdomen. "And he has a lightning Quirk."

With that information, it wasn't hard to piece the pieces together.

"Was he the one who was targeting you?" This time All Might was asking her a question.

"Yes, but I wasn't being targeted like Bakugo. It looked like Light was acting on his own when he tried to get me."

Mizuha watched as Tsukauchi and All Might exchanged a look. She stared at them curiously. Before she could contemplate on it, she saw something move near her door. The two adults had left her door open; it was wide open. Her eyes landed on her door. She saw a familiar brunette retreat her head when she saw that Mizuha had important visitors.

 _Why is she here?_

Mizuha returned her attention on the two in front of her when the police officer started speaking to her again. The rest of the questions were simple enough and she answered them the best she could. She chose to leave out the part where Light said that she was like him. To her, it seemed obvious that he was lost in the head. She didn't need to mention something so ridiculous.

All Might actually praised her for her _heroic_ acts when she ran back into the forest to rescue Jushima from Class 1-B. The boy was in critical condition but he was able to avoid the worst thanks to her and Byakuren. Mizuha could only nod her head with a short and forced smile, she didn't really know how to feel about it now that things were very serious. There wasn't really anything to be proud of.

"Until we rescue Bakugo and arrest the League of Villains, please refrain from going outside on your own. Alright?" Tsukauchi advised her.

Mizuha nodded her head obediently. "I understand."

With that, the two of them left her room. Her eyes watched as they took a left and disappeared from her sight. The platinum blonde haired girl let out a tired sigh and dropped her head forward. Maybe she should have gone back to sleep after all. Her ears heard the sound of a soft knocking. She looked up and brushed away her bangs from her eyes.

It was Uraraka.

"Hey, Mizuha." she smiled at her before entering her room and shutting the door behind her. "How are you feeling?" she asked her when she started walking towards her.

Mizuha straightened up and planted her hands flat behind her, as if to prove how well she was. "I'm alright actually. I was told I could leave today."

"Really?" the shorter girl smiled in relief while placing a hand on her chest. "That's good to hear. I was worried."

"After everything that happened? I'm sure that you were." Mizuha rubbed the back of her neck. "So, aside from me, has anyone woken up? Anyone from our class?"

"Well… Deku has been falling in and out of consciousness. But that's it. No one has really woken up yet."

Mizuha nodded silently and stared at the floor below her. She remembered seeing how Midoriya's arms were all screwed up. It's been a while since she saw him injured like that. From what she noticed, it didn't seem like he has hurting himself with his Quirk after the internship. He probably learned to control it better during that time.

The taller girl shifted her eyes to look at the brown haired girl. She noticed the expression on her face. She saw how Uraraka was holding back on something. It was clear on her face. Mizuha tilted her head, wondering what she wanted to ask.

Mizuha sighed and sat up properly to face her. "If you want to say something, then go ahead. I'm listening." she shrugged.

This made Uraraka nod a little.

…

…

…

"Did you… happen to scream back then?"

Mizuha's eyes widened.

"… Hah?"

"I overheard you talking with Tsukauchi and All Might and I also knew about your injuries. I thought it would make sense… it _did_ sound like a girl was screaming."

Mizuha stared at Uraraka, mouth slight agape. It never crossed her mind that her scream could actually be heard by someone.

It must have echoed.

Again, Mizuha placed her hand on her abdomen.

 _Light landed his hand on her abdomen, sending a wave of lightning coursing through her body._

 _Mizuha was screaming. Her fingers were digging into the earth beneath her. Her body was forming a slight arc as it continued. With her eyes wide open, she was staring back at Light's grinning face._

 _She was terrified._

She blinked and pushed away the unpleasant memories from her mind. She didn't want to think about that at all. Her eyes shifted to look at Uraraka who was staring at her with worry. Seeing this, Mizuha nodded with a sheepish grin, pushing away any sort of weakness that might have been expressed on her face.

"Yeah, that was me. I was on the ground when the villain," she patted her abdomen. "decided to ruthlessly attack me with his Lightning Quirk."

She wasn't used to showing her vulnerable side to others.

Uraraka stared at her for a moment. Her eyes watched Mizuha pat her hand against herself lightly, she even shrugged once. As if saying 'It's over now. What can we do about it?'. Mizuha was alone during that time and she was facing a villain who made her scream that much. She remembered what it sounded like. She could remember the chill she felt up her spine she heard it. It happened when she was running with the others after the masked villain captured Tokoyami and Bakugo. If they were still playing the scare game in the forest, that scream would have definitely scared a lot of students. It lasted for at least six seconds before it died down. Shoji, Tsuyu, Deku and Todoroki all heard it too. They were all wondering who it was as it echoed throughout the forest.

It was a scary experience for her and for everyone.

"But it's all good. I'm fine now." she said with a small laugh.

Why was she acting like this?

She knew that Mizuha was a reserved person... but...

Before she could even think of asking that question, Mizuha stood up from her bed and stretched her body. Her arms were raised above her head.

"I guess I should start getting ready to leave." she said as she lowered her arms back to her side. She gave Uraraka a small smile. "Thanks for dropping by. I appreciate it." She said genuinely.

Uraraka shook her head with her own smiled and waved her hands in front of her face. "It was only right that I did."

"Well, then," Mizuha started walking towards a random part of the room. "I gotta change out of this thing and into my casual clothes." she said before looking carefully around.

This was the brunette's cue to leave the room. "Alright, I'll give you some privacy." she smiled at her and waved. "See you."

Mizuha only hummed in response.

Uraraka turned around on her spot and reached out for the door as she walked closer to it. She was sliding it open. However, she stopped halfway and glanced at Mizuha from the side. She saw her pulling out a note out of a black bag that was found in the corner of the room. She recognized it as the bag that Byakuren gave the ambulance before it took off with Mizuha. Inside were spare clothes that he hurriedly pulled out of Mizuha's bag and shoved into a smaller one that he belonged to him. The note was probably from him too.

Mizuha's faint smile then dropped, like as if something just popped up in her mind, something that was strong enough to push away the appreciation of her friend's thoughtfulness. The girl slightly lowered the note and closed her eyes.

"… Mizuha?"

Said girl hummed once more and lowered the note back in the bag. Mizuha's eyes reopened before she turned to look at Uraraka. She was showing a completely different look, her face was expressing a look of fake curiosity that wanted to fool someone into thinking that nothing was on her mind. To her surprise, she found Uraraka striding towards her with a concerned look on her face.

She was standing in front of her now. Mizuha blinked.

"You were scared right?"

Mizuha stared at the shorter girl, not showing any sort of exterior surprise on her face.

 _Uraraka is good at reading people._

"You were all alone. That villain wanted to capture you. You _had_ to be scared."

She averted her eyes and chuckled softly. Her fake expression didn't work this time.

 _Aah, I didn't want others to worry about it._

Mizuha didn't want to give her a straight answer. So, she answered her indirectly.

The taller girl jutted her bottom lip in silly manner and shrugged. "I woke up from a nightmare this morning. I dreamed about that particular moment." Mizuha placed a hand where Light placed his that night. "And I could still feel his hand." she finished while using the same hand to wave it dismissively. "But, it's alright now."

She certainly wasn't expecting Uraraka to lean forward, she was offering— no —she was giving her a comforting hug. Mizuha was stiff, she didn't know what to do or say at the moment.

"Everyone was scared. There's no need to hide it." she said while rubbing a hand on her back. "You were all alone too. There's no way someone wouldn't get scared after experiencing something that you did."

Mizuha understood that. It was just that showing others some type of vulnerability wasn't something she was used to. Even before the incident, she'd act tough and swallow any fear without a word. Fears are only temporary. They can also be your strength. She could even recall the number of times she told someone she had a fear, which was very few. She had silly fears that came with being nervous which eventually turn into something she could control since she knew where it originated from.

 _It's fine. Fearing Light is only natural._

 _I'm sure I'll get over it sooner or later._

So, why would she need to express that fear?

…

…

Mizuha slowly but surely wrapped an arm around the shorter girl, a small smile appeared on her lips.

"I'm just not used to talking about stuff like that. Sorry."

Uraraka pulled away and smiled at her. "Sometimes it's good to talk about what's on your mind or what you're feeling. It's better than keeping it all bottled up."

She didn't know what to say to those words. Instead, she brought her forefinger underneath her nose and brushed against it in a sheepish way. Mizuha averted her eyes once again and thanked Uraraka for her words.

"Does that mean I can come to you if I need to talk?" she asked with a small laugh. She said it with a joking tone.

Uraraka placed her hands on her hips. "Of course!" she replied immediately.

Mizuha didn't expect her to answer so quickly.

* * *

After parting ways with Uraraka, Mizuha got dressed and gathered all her belongings. She stuffed the clothes she wore on the ride to the hospital in the same bag that had her clean clothes. She would return his bag after she emptied out back at home. As a habit, her fingers danced around her neck in search of a certain object. When she realized her fingers were merely ghosting around the skin of her neck, she frowned. It completely slipped her mind that her headphones were not with her today. She dropped her hand from her neck and reached for her phone on the table.

 _Now, my only problem is leaving the hospital. I can't leave by myself…_

Mizhua stepped out of her room and shut the door behind her while holding up her phone to her face. Multitasking was her specialty so she didn't really have to worry about bumping into a nurse or some other patient that was passing by. She needed to call her mom again to ask her what she should do now that she wanted to leave and go home.

Just as she took one step, she heard her name being called behind her. She turned her head and glanced over her shoulder to respond to whoever just called her. She found a familiar redhead and dual colored haired boy standing behind her. Surprised by their appearance, she turned around properly and faced them.

 _Kirishima and Todoroki? What an odd pair. I definitely never pictured these two together…_

"We dropped by Midoriya's room after seeing Yaoyorozu. We met up with Uraraka and she told us that you were being discharged today." Kirishima explained to her.

Mizuha nodded. "I see." she started waving her phone in front of her. "But it's alright. I'm going home now so you can head back to check on Midoriya." she said casually.

Kirishima's red hues stared at her onyx ones before they dropped and stared at the floor for a moment. Mizuha's eyes then looked at Todoroki's for a moment, confused. The other boy didn't say anything but merely looked at Kirishima.

"Do you still want to tell her?" Todoroki asked him.

She cocked her head to the side. "Tell me what?"

Kirishima looked at Todoroki for a brief moment. He nodded. Without wasting another second, he opened the door that Mizuha had slid shut and silently ushered her back inside. He had an arm around her as he guided her back in the room. Still confused, Mizuha allowed him to push her inside without a word. Once they were both inside, Todoroki also entered the room before shutting the door behind him.

Mizuha dropped her phone into her pocket.

 _Seems serious… what's up with them?_

They told her about their plan.

They told her how they overheard Yaoyorozu telling All Might and the police that she had placed a tracking device on one of the villains and that she could create the device connected to it. She was hoping that it would at least aid the police in their rescue operation. They both wanted to go and rescue Bakugo from the League of Villains. Mizuha was surprised that they already asked for help from Yaoyorozu by making them another device. However, she told them to give her some time to think about it. They also added how they were going to ask Midoriya if he wanted to help get his friend back. Hearing how they were considering to ask help from the one who was most injured from the incident, it almost made her want to shut them down right there. But as Mizuha listened to their explanation, she didn't know what to say. She understood their determination and frustration by just looking at them while listening. But they were only students going up against people who were dangerous.

She didn't know what to say.

It was only when Kirishima asked her a certain question that she finally decided to speak up.

He was asking her if she wanted to help in rescuing Bakugo.

Her eyes widened at the question.

Mizuha shook her head slowly while keeping her eyes on Kirishima. She was frowning. "Sorry, I can't help you with that."

As she faced Kirishima while speaking, she saw his eyes. It was clear that he was disappointed with her answer but she also detected understanding behind them. That made her feel less guilty from refusing to offer her help.

"If I go missing during the night," Mizuha started explaining to him. "my mom would call the police. That would only make things more complicated for the police who are already busy enough trying to figure out what to do in order to get back Bakugo from the League. Then there's also the fact that you might return with one student still missing if I join you. There's a chance I might end up taking Bakugo's place since one of them was also after me."

"… I know. Todoroki told me." He lowered his head and frowned. "You were also being targeted by someone…" he clenched his fist. "But I _still_ wanted to ask you."

"… I don't really like the idea of you guys going out during the night to try and rescue Bakugo. What if something happens to you? Are you seriously about to fight them? Who knows what might happen…"

She was worried.

"No," Todoroki spoke up, cutting off Kirishima before he replied. "We're going to get him back without fighting. That's the only way this will work."

Mizuha stared at them, observing their resolve in their eyes. She really wanted to stop them but in the same time she found herself unable to. Kirishima was unable to do anything for his friend and Todoroki was the one at that moment that could have prevented Bakugo's capture. Frustration and regret. Those were two things she could actually relate to. It wasn't easy to erase from the mind either.

With a sigh, Mizuha approached Kirishima and reached for his clenched fist. She slowly undid his fist gently with eyes that were shadowed by her bangs. Kirishima watched in surprise as she held his hand in one of hers before gently patting the backside of his hand with her other.

"I understand that you're frustrated about being unable to do anything." she looked at him and smiled a little. "But, if possible, don't feel frustrated over two people. Being frustrated over one person is more than enough."

 _Feeling frustrated and regretful over six people is a lot to handle. One is more than enough._

 ** _"... Unless you know how it feels to do nothing and just sit back and watch as people get hurt because you're scared as hell to even move!—"_**

 _I guess… you have an idea about that feeling of doing nothing._

She moved her hand away from his and continued to show him her little smile. "I'm alright. You shouldn't have to worry about me now." she then used her own hand to lower his, setting it back by his side.

Seeing the way she smiled at him along with the particular emotion of empathy behind her eyes, it made him understand what she was trying to tell him. She knew what he was feeling but she didn't want him to feel terrible about it the way she had for five years.

Kirishima didn't answer her as he lowered his head.

Mizuha looked down at her hand that was now being held by his.

He held hers tightly.

* * *

Not too long after that, Mizuha made it to the front doors of the building. She was going to give her mother a call now that she had time. She stepped aside to get out of anyone's way but was still able to see past the glass doors. She looked outside as her phone fished into her pocket.

From afar, she saw several cars driving off after picking up a discharged patient. Nurses were helping people in wheelchairs get seated into the car. Some patients were simply walking away from the building, they didn't need anyone to come and get them. It wasn't until all cars that in the front drove off that another black car arrived. The backseat door facing the hospital opened and a familiar boy stepped out of it, shutting the door behind him with a loud sound. It was her white haired friend, he was jogging towards the front doors. Confused, Mizuha walked past the automatic doors with her phone in hand.

Byakuren stopped when he noticed her exiting the building, relieved.

"Mizuha!" He waved at her.

"Byakuren? Why are you here?" she asked while approaching him.

"Your mom called and asked if I could come pick you up." he looked back and pointed at the car he just got out of. "Kyougyoku is driving."

Mizuha watched as a window rolled down, revealing a certain white haired woman inside in the driver's seat. She pointed at Mizuha. "Mizuha! Get your butt in the car already!" she hollered.

Byakuren sweat dropped as he felt other people looking at him. He quickly brought an arm around Mizuha, bringing her along with him as he walked back to the car.

"I guess Shiran and dad is too busy to leave work to come and get me I guess." Mizuha figured since her mother had to rely on the friend family, the Kyouran family.

Shiran held the door open for her, letting her go inside first. Mizuha tucked herself into the corner of her seat and stretched the seatbelt across her body as Byakuren seated himself next to her. Mizuha greeted the oldest Kyouran with a small nod.

As soon as Kyougyoku started driving, Byakuren was already asking her about the condition of their classmates who were still stuck in the hospital. She answered him while also giving him an update on Class 1-B.

Kyougyoku kissed her teeth and turned the steering wheel to the right with an irritated look. "I swear to god… these villains even go as far as to attack children in the dark. Who the hell does that? Heartless people. If my little brother ended up in the hospital… I would be volunteering to rescue your classmate just to teach them a lesson."

Byakuren scowled. "Sis… I don't think they'd allow you no matter how much you begged."

Mizuha resisted the urge the puff out a laugh of amusement.

She simply shrugged. "Never hurts to try." she looked at Mizuha through the front mirror. "If they successfully took you with that Bakugo kid… your family would be so worried, especially Shiran."

"Yeah, I know." Mizuha scratched her arm.

"I honestly don't know how your brother is taking this whole incident. He's already been worried and been on edge every since he found out of USJ." Kyougyoku turned the steering wheel to the right.

Mizuha frowned when she heard that. Her brother was an alumnus of U.A. She knew that he trusted that school when it came to nurturing students to make them become heroes, but she was wondering if his trust would start to waver if he doesn't feel like the security of students isn't assured. The public opinion on the current U.A wasn't going to help either. The distrust in the school is growing.

Mizuha looked at Byakuren. "By the way, what happened to you? You said you'd come back to get me if I didn't return."

The white haired boy stared at her for a few seconds, taking in what she just said before forming an 'o' with his mouth. "Turns out Vlad King is pretty fast… I couldn't escape him the second time after I brought Jyushima back." he held up a hand. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I was just curious."

"Oh right, I almost forgot." Byakuren pulled out his phone and started going through it. He did a few taps on his screen with his thumb before arching towards her to show his screen. Mizuha did the same and looked. It was a conversation between him and Kaminari. Apparently, the whole class was planning on visiting the hospital together to check on their classmates.

"You in?" He asked her.

She shrugged. "We'll see. I was advised not to wander outside alone and it depends on my mom. I don't want to worry her."

"Well," Kyougyoku piped up from the front. "If you two want to go, I don't mind bringing you there. I have free time on my hands since I'm not immediately required to go back to work because I'm recovering. Maybe that could convince auntie?"

Mizuha lightly tilted her head. "Mhm, okay."

* * *

The next day, she returned to the hospital under her mother's consent and Kyougyoku's care. They were supposed to meet the others somewhere else but to save Kyougyoku the trouble of driving everywhere, they decided to wait at the hospital in the waiting area. There, she told Byakuren about the little operation that Kirishima and Todoroki were planning to do with Yaoyorozu's help if she ever agreed. He wasn't too supportive of the idea either, even when knowing that they weren't planning on fighting at all. As much as he wanted to try and help his classmate, this type of thing had to be left in the hands of the Pros.

When the others arrived at the hospital (with a melon that they all bought together), they went straight for Midoriya's room to check on him.

Kaminari knocked a few times before pulling the door open and peeked inside. The others waited behind him.

"OH!" he exclaimed. "Midoriya, you're awake!"

One by one, they started flooding the room.

Mineta held up the melon above his head. "We've got a melon! We bought it together! A big melon!" he said cheerfully.

Tokoyami looked down, ashamed. "I caused so much trouble for you, Midoriya…"

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry…" the green haired boy's eyes were slowly scanning each person in the room. "Did everyone from Class 1-A come?" He probably had a little trouble recognizing everyone from being all dazed from the medicine.

"No, Jiro and Hagakure are still unconscious from the villain's gas." Iida started filling him in on the situation. "And Yaoyorozu also got hit hard on the head and is hospitalized here. Apparently, she regained consciousness yesterday. So, everyone came but those three…"

"Of course, Bakugo's not here." Todoroki reminded the boy.

"Whoa, Todoroki…!" Ashido looked at him from the side.

"Well, it's the truth." Mizuha furrowed her brows and frowned. "Why hide it?"

"… But still…"

It was after Midoriya expressed his regret of not being able to save Bakugo, someone right in front of him, that Kirishima told him that it wasn't too late to do so. Mizuha crossed her arms and listened as Kirishima expressed his own frustration while revealing the plan he made with Todoroki. She chose to remain silent, watching the scene play out. She could hear it in his voice that he really didn't like doing nothing as his friend was out there being targeted by villains, he did nothing but wait for wait the conclusion of the struggle in the forest. Even when Iida was reprimanding him for thinking of such a plan, it did not make him back down.

Byakuren's eyes moved and set its sights on Iida. The boy was practically shaking as he breathed in. Then he raised his voice again. "You have got to be joking!"

"Hang on, calm down." Shoji intervened. "I get it. Kirishima's pain over not being not able to do anything and Todoroki's frustration at having him stolen in front of his very eyes. I'm frustrated, too. But, this isn't a situation where we should act on our emotions. Right?"

Mizuha lowered her eyes as she thought back at that very moment when Bakugo was snatched by Dabi. Her hand, that was hidden underneath her arm, clenched tightly. Now that she thought about it, she was feeling some regret as well. She couldn't even offer her help when the situation demanded it. She was too busy trying to fight off the crazy guy who wanted to kidnap her.

"Yeah, and who knows? The situation might end up even worse than it is now." Byakuren pointed out a possibility. "Students were on their target list." he placed a hand on Mizuha's shoulder. "One of them tried taking Mizuha that night too. If you go there, you might end up getting captured like Bakugo."

"Exactly! Kyouran is absolutely right!" Iida agreed, not standing down from his position.

Everyone looked at Mizuha. He had a point. They had no idea about the villains' objectives. If they were targeting students then the idea of trying to go and get Bakugo would be practically like walking right into their hands.

"That's true..." Kaminari muttered.

"L-Let's just leave it to All Might…" proposed Aoyama. "Our permission to fight at the training camp has been rescinded, too."

"Aoyama's right." agreed Tokoyami. "I can't say much since I was the one who needed saving, though…"

"Everyone," Tsuyu spoke up, as calm as ever. "We're all shocked from Bakugo's kidnapping. But let's think things through calmly. No matter how righteous our feelings are, if you're saying you'll fight again… that you'll break the rules… Those acts are the same as those of villains."

And that was the undeniable truth.

Mizuha looked at several people in the room after her classmate said those words. No one uttered a word as they let her words sink in their minds.

 _It's the harsh truth._

Suddenly, there a was a knock at the door, revealing a doctor behind it. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time for Midoriya's examination…"

"Wh-Why don't we go?" suggested Sero, nervous from the whole talk. "I wanna see how Jiro and Hagakure are doing, too."

Together, all the students left Midoriya's room. Byakuren played it cool, not showing any signs of having earlier's discussion by placing his hands on Mizuha's shoulders and lightly pushing her out the door while massaging her shoulders with a smile. He glanced to the side and noticed that Kirishima and Todoroki stayed behind.

He frowned at the sight.

 _Aah, we're all going to be in trouble once Aizawa-sensei finds out… what a pain._

…

…

…

That night, the news broadcasted the U.A High School Emergency Conference to the public. The Principal, Vlad King and, the teacher who disliked the media, Aizawa were all present as representatives for the school. A formal apologize was issued at that conference in the presence of many reporters.

 _"We deeply apologize for the incident that allowed harm to come to 27 first years of the Hero Course because of our unpreparedness. We apologize for causing unease in society due to our negligence in properly defending ourselves as a place of learning. We are truly sorry."_

That same night, the truth of about All Might was exposed on live broadcast. He stood in front of the enemy with a skinny looking form, almost like a skeleton. Endeavor, Edgeshot, Kamui Woods and Tiger were there to help All Might, they were rescuing those who needed help around the area to ease his burden and to defeat the enemy.

And he did.

Everyone cheered for him.

They continued to believe in him no matter what form he took on.

And that same night, the era of All Might finally ended.

While she watched it happened on the news with her family, she realized that a lot of people relied on the Symbol of Peace… perhaps a little too much. All Might is only human too, there was going to be a limit somewhere. It must have been a real heavy burden.

Two days passed. The Hero Billboard Chart JP updated the nation about the rankings of Heroes now that All Might announced his retirement. They also gave the news regarding two certain heroes. Ragdoll, the one who went missing during the Training Camp, had lost the ability to use her Quirk and so had to take a break from active duty. For Best Jeanist, he was able to avoid death's doors but had to take a break from active duty as well until he fully heals.

Mizuha was sitting on her bed while leaning her back against her wall. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard of her laptop that was resting on her lap. She was feeling extremely bothered about the fact that the news did not give her what she wanted.

There was still no update regarding the League of Villains. They didn't arrest them yet.

 _"Maybe next time then."_

Mizuha dropped her face in her hands.

Light's wide grin flashed in her mind.

Her body flinched from the memory. She closed the lid of her laptop and pushed it over her lap before gently setting it on the floor. Her arm stretched towards the blanket that was resting on a nearby chair and tugged it to her. The blanket unfolded itself in the air and she wrapped herself in it, hiding herself. This was the only thing she could think of in order to give herself comfort at this moment.

"... catch him already... please."


	16. Chapter 16: The Last Two Weeks of Summer

A letter came in the mail.

It was a letter from the school. It was to inform the parents about the about decision that the Principal came up with to ensure the students' safety. The school was implementing the boarding school system.

It came to the Hyoumei family's knowledge when Mizuki picked it up from the mailbox while coming back from work. Mizuha was home alone playing video games when it arrived inside the house, and she was the one who read the letter first. Her mother, the second person to read it, informed the rest of the family when they came back home. Mizuki was more willing to accept the boarding school idea, she trusted the school and her brother to make sure her daughter was safe. Meanwhile, Tenran was against it because it would mean that it could risk having more danger come to his child if the school still wasn't taking proper responsibility, thinking that the boarding school idea is for the purpose of saving face. Ever since he found out that a member of the League of Villains had his eyes on her, he became unwilling to leave his daughter to the school. It was probably the parental instinct of a protective father over his daughter talking. As for Shiran, his trust in the school he graduated was starting to slightly waver. He expressed that distrust when he scratched his head in frustration while suggesting that maybe it would be better if Mizuha changed school if things aren't looking so good. Mizuha was against that idea and somehow that was enough for Shiran to back down.

It was only after her mother clearly made her decision to allow her to move into the dorm that Mizuha expressed her fear of the villain named 'Light'.

Her fear that he would be back to pull her inside the black void not being able to escape and unable to return home where she felt safe. And not knowing the meaning behind his words when he stated that she was like him. It was the first time she was feeling such a thing, and she didn't like how it was making her feel more stressed out than she needed.

Her mother pulled her into her arms and could only assure her that the school was actually offering them the best option they had. How could they possibly know if the villains knew their address? Mizuha was left home alone after school most days during the week because everyone else was busy working. Having Mizuha stay home alone, unprotected, is the thing that worries Mizuki the most.

It was actually the only thing her mother could do _now_ , to ensure the safety of her daughter.

Mizuha could only silently respect her mother's decision, understanding it.

 _… I should just… push it away from my mind then._

 _It should make my life easier._

* * *

The doorbell rang.

"Someone rang the doorbell!" Mizuha hollered in the house with a chocolate pocky stick in her mouth. Despite her full focus on the giant TV screen and the furious jamming of buttons on the game controller, she allowed the current present residents of the Hyoumei house to be notified of the bell that might have been muted over the loud volume of her game.

After having the Training Camp cancelled, Mizuha decided to enjoy whatever time she had left before the end of her summer vacation. That meant, living her life without a single care in the world while drowning herself in games, sleeping and occasionally going out with Byakuren or her family.

Shiran, shuffling his slippers against the wooden floor, frowned and glanced at his sister in the living room. He sighed. "Would it kill you to just pause it? The monster will wait." he said while walking past the living room.

Mizuha rolled her eyes. "No way. Last time I did, it was a Jehova's witness that started talking for a decade."

Without even bothering to reply, Shiran made a move to unlock the door but then paused when he remembered about the caution he had to take now that her sister was a target. He silently moved next to the door, planting his palms against the surface softly before peering into the peep hole that his front door provided. He was met with the sight of a tired looking man and a man who looked like his hair was deflated in the front. The platinum blond haired adult pushed himself off the door, unlocked it and opened the door.

"Aizawa-senpai and All Might. What's up?" He asked with a cheery smile. He didn't lose his happy attitude despite the recent events.

Upon hearing the names spoken at the front door, Mizuha paused her game at lightning speed. She looked down at what she was wearing and sweatdropped. She was in clothes that she didn't want other people who wasn't part of her family to see. Shorts that revealed her calves and childhood scarred knees and a long oversized blue t-shirt. With a quiet curse, she pushed the rectangular coffee table with her feet in a hurry and snatched the pocky box off it before making a mad dash for her room.

Aizawa and All Might were entering the premises and putting on the slippers and they were just in time to see a blur of blue pass run past behind Shiran.

The older Hyoumei, who was facing away from them to call out to the mother of the house, jumped in fright when the youngest member of the family passed by him hastily.

…

…

…

After changing and being told to shut off the TV, Mizuha joined her mother and brother in the living room where Aizawa and All Might were seated in. With the coffee table separating them, they all sat face to face. Her father wasn't present for the discussion that they were about to have, he had some other business to attend to that was related to work. It was better to leave Mizuki to handle these types of affairs anyway, especially since he gave in after she persuaded him into agreeing with her. That meant that the oldest child of the family was sort of going to be his proxy when it came to being wary and concerned.

"I believe you were already sent a notice about this but we're here to talk about the U.A's dorm system." Aizawa started, getting straight to the point. "This decision came from the conceit and negligence we've come to realize with the recent events. We've thought about what we could possibly do to ensure that we don't repeat the same mistakes. The boarding school system was implemented to make sure that students will be protected and to allow us teachers to keep a closer eye on them."

"We're asking you if you'll allow us to leave your child in our care. To trust us once more and to allow us to raise her into a fine hero." All Might finished.

There was no hesitation in her mother's immediate answer.

"Yes," Mizuki nodded. "I understand and support your decision and I still trust you."

Surprised by her quick agreement without any complaints, Aizawa asked again to make sure she was alright with it. He was prepared for criticism, so it was only natural that he be surprised when there was none, especially since it was concerning the parent of the student that nearly got taken away that night.

"You probably might or might not know this," Mizuki sat up properly in her seat. "I still have my hero license but I am not on active duty anymore."

Mizuha and Shiran both looked at Mizuki, surprised and curious when she mentioned it.

"Yes, I remember. Your hero name was Leviathian, was it not?" Aizawa said.

"Yes, I stopped working as a Hero when Mizuha was around three years old. With my brother's advice, I chose to change my profession to have more time with my family since I couldn't spend much with Shiran before he started high school." she explained. "It might seem selfish to you but I'm happy with the decision I made."

This was not hidden knowledge from Mizuha. Her mother worked as a Hero under the name of Leviathian. From what she was told, her mother worked diligently and was an all-rounder just like her when it came to using her water Quirk.

All Might waved his hand dismissively. "No, no. Putting your family first is never a selfish thing to do." he assured her.

Mizuki smiled at that, appreciating the retired Hero's words.

"Now, I work as caregiver in several different places. My husband and my son also work, and we three tend to come home late. This leaves Mizuha home alone without anyone watching over her. As someone who still retains the mindset of a hero, I feel uneasy knowing there's someone out there trying to get at my daughter. And as a mother, I want to make sure my daughter will be okay without me constantly worrying about her safety. Therefore, the idea of the dormitory puts my mind at ease since _I can't_ protect her by myself."

Mizuki wrapped an arm around Mizuha's shoulders and held her that way, lightly squeezing her shoulder.

And even if Mizuki happened to be home when danger occurred, she wasn't even in shape to go against villains anymore. She could only really depend on U.A, it was her only choice.

Then she laughed jokingly. "However, I'll admit that I'm worried about how she'll manage on her own in the dorm. She's always stuck studying and playing that she doesn't know how to cook a proper meal."

Mizuha sweatdropped. "… exposed." she muttered to herself while dropping her head.

Shiran scoffed. "She's still very dependent on mommy."

Mizuha scowled and held her hands out in front of her while looking at her brother. "Dude." she narrowed her eyes at him. "Shut up."

Shiran rolled his eyes and locked his arm around her neck before pulling her away from her mother's side hug and into his.

"Ack—!"

He started ruffling her hair. "My father and I are still on edge from the incident. We're both scared of Mizuha getting hurt or kidnapped." he started, addressing the teachers. His ruffling ceased and he rested his hand on her head. "But… my mother has a point. To make sure Mizuha stays safe… we have to trust U.A in protecting her. It's the best thing we could do."

Aizawa and All Might bowed their heads, thanking them for their trust.

"You won't have to worry for her safety." Aizawa promised.

The Hyoumei family did the same.

All Might smiled at Mizuha. "And maybe, this experience will allow Hyoumei to grow a little more independent."

Mizuha pouted and leaned back against the couch.

 _Great, now the teachers know that I'm hopeless in the field of staying alive on my own._

With the discussion coming to a close, Aizawa brought up his bag up to his lap and pulled out a consent form for her mother to sign. He clicked the end of the black pen and slid both items towards Mizuki. Fortunately, only one signature from a parent was needed. As Mizuki looked over what was written on the paper, Aizawa looked over at Mizuha.

"What about you, Hyoumei? Do you have any complaints about the dorm system?"

"… Aside from being away from my family and probably dying on my own? Nope."

 _… Should I tell them about Light?_

Her homeroom teacher gave her a look. "I see, good."

 _… Should I?_

Mizuha's eyes watched as her mother scratched the paper, sealing the discussion.

 _… It might be important if they know._

Shiran looked at sister.

 _… I could just tell them later at school, right? … It might not even be relevant._

"Well, we should be going." All Might stood up from his seat, followed by Aizawa. "We still have a lot more houses to drop by."

They both bowed down.

 _Ah, it's too late._

 _I'll just tell them at school._

 _It's fine._

"Mizuha."

The said girl looked at Shiran, surprised. "Y-Yeah?"

"What's wrong? You look like you want to say something."

She blinked, her mouth slight agape before turning her head to look at her teachers. Her mother was already on her way to lead them out but stopped with them when Shiran spoke up.

 _"Hyoumei."_

 _"Hm?"_

 _"Next time, just say it."_

 _… Right, Todoroki told me to just say it._

 _…_

 _Yeah, I should._

Mizuki watched her daughter. It looked like she was still struggling to speak. Usually, her mother would be the one to tell others what she thought after her daughter whispered her thoughts to her. It seemed like she needed to do so once again, and she had a good idea of what was on her mind.

However, for once, Mizuha beat her to it.

"It's about one of the villains that attacked that night. The others referred to him as 'Light'… he was the one who attacked me and wanted to take me with him." she said. "It's the one who had his face covered with his hair." she motioned

All Might thought back at the moment where Kamui Woods trapped all the villains with his wood. He remembered the fellow she was talking about. He had messy sand brown hair that hid everything above nose. The man was always grinning, almost like he was mad.

"I'm scared." she admitted. "He said that there would be a next time where he would come back for me… and he also said that I was like him. What do you think he meant by that?"

Aizawa faced her properly. "I understand that you're scared but constantly thinking about that will trouble you even further. The purpose of the dorm is to set the parents and the students at ease and to trust us with your protection. We'll be making sure that there isn't a 'next time'." He reminded her. "As for what he said, it's probably something that was similar with Bakugo. They saw something in him that they thought they could exploit to make him a villain. It might be the same for you but I'm not sure what it could be."

 _Ah._

Hearing an explanation that made sense was enough to settle down the fear. It was an explanation that was giving her fear an origin and a reason to relax a little.

She visibly relaxed and let out a heavy breath.

With her homeroom teacher easing her worries, it was finally time for All Might and Aizawa to leave the Hyoumei residence. Shiran patted his sister's head and stood up from his seat. He took his mother's place in seeing them out.

Mizuha leaned back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling of her living room.

* * *

Fifteen days before the end of summer vacation and the start of the next semester. Eijin personally brought Mizuha to U.A. He had told her that he needed her help with something.

He brought her to her own classroom and asked her to take a seat.

Mizuha watched her uncle carefully, watching him dig through the folder he brought along. It didn't take him too long to find whatever he was looking for. He collected the mechanical pencil and the eraser he brought along with him and walked over to her desk with the stapled papers.

He set the items in front of her and pulled out the seat in front of her to sit in it.

Mizuha picked up the papers and went through them.

 _Huh?_

"… These are math exercises for a third year's level."

"Yes."

"But don't you know that I'm in first year?" Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow, not understanding her uncle's motive.

"But I also know that you are advanced in your math studies." He said.

"… So, what? Are you planning on transferring me to a third year's class _just_ for math classes?"

"No," he shook his head. "I might need your help in tutoring a third year student."

Mizuha dropped the papers on her desk and gaped at her uncle. "What? Are you kidding me? Why me?!"

As he predicted, she wasn't enthusiastic about the idea.

Eijin sighed and ran his fingers in his hair. "Look, with how things are now, this student can't really find himself a tutor—"

"IT'S A 'HE'?!"

"— because of the dormitory and stuff." he continued, ignoring her interruption. "He only failed math but this is going cause problems for his work-study."

Mizuha frowned. "But… it's just one subject?"

"Yes, but a student who is also doing internships should also be able to maintain their grades at the same time. I am offering him a chance to fix his grade so that he can continue to do his internship. However, I can't permit him to seek tutoring from a fellow classmate since that would involve some cheating." he explained before pointing a finger at her. "That's where you come in. You, who hasn't seen the third year's math exam and is actually good at this level of math, is the perfect person I can turn to. You also have experience in tutoring someone: Byakuren. Internships are important and I'd rather he not have his internship suspended."

Mizuha didn't like where this conversation was headed. If he kept this up, then he might actually win her over. A third year student doing internship-related stuff was important since they were at that graduating year. If she were to refuse her uncle's plead, she'd be denying this student the opportunity to do hero-related work. If she was the only person that could actually improve that student's situation… then she was definitely going to have a hard time refusing. But was she seriously about to tutor some random student?

What if they turned out to be a total jerk? She would have to be stuck with this person until the tutoring was over…

Mizuha leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "How long will this tutoring-thingy going on for?" she asked with an exasperated tone.

He held up two fingers.

"I'm giving him exactly two weeks, starting tomorrow. If he passes my exam, he won't have to cut his internship time to focus on his studies. I haven't showed him his corrected test paper because I'll be giving him the same one. No one knows that except for you and me... and the Principal of course."

The more she listened, the more harder it was getting to refuse.

 _… Man, I wish I could just go back to the days where I walked away from my problems… just for this moment._

"… What happens if I agree?"

Her uncle smiled, appreciating her consideration. He tapped the stabled papers with his index finger. "First, I need you to take a look at these. I need to make sure that you completely understand this. Well, even if you didn't understand most, I could teach it to you right here since you're a quick learner."

 _He really needs my help with this, huh?_

"Second, once that's done, I'll get some extra exercises ready after updating him on the situation. Since tomorrow marks the first day of the two weeks, you'll start tomorrow while getting acquainted. I'll give you more details tonight once I tell him about it."

Mizuha let out a sigh. She reached for the papers and started looking through them. This was definitely not how she wanted to finish her summer vacation. She only had two weeks left and she was going to spend time on school campus AND she was going to tutor someone older than her. How odd was that?!

Her onyx eyes lazily scanned the problems, recognizing problems from the third-year material she had. Some were actually easy while some were actually a little more difficult since she didn't exactly reach that part yet. The easy ones outnumbered the difficult ones. With the mechanical pencil, she circled the numbers she had trouble figuring it out and showed it to her uncle.

"These ones. I haven't look at these types of problems in Shiran's old math book yet."

 _Alright, fine. I'll help._

With a huge grin, Eijin happily pinched her right cheek which she narrowed eyes at him for. "Thank you for your help, Mizuha!" he said before taking the two last pages of the stapled papers and ripping them off. He handed them to Mizuha and strode over to the blackboard with the other papers.

Those blank sheets of paper were most likely going to be used for taking notes and doing small problems.

"Alright… let's start with the first one." Eijin set the papers on the teacher's desk and picked up a brand new piece of chalk.

 _I can't believe I'm doing this…_

* * *

Just as Eijin said, she was a quick learner. She became more familiar with the problems he wanted her to focus on and was able to answer them completely. There were a few mistakes here and there, but Eijin was patient and helpful throughout the way.

Eijin would be picking her up from her house and dropping her off, he wasn't going to take any risks in letting her walk outside by herself. She wasn't complaining though; it was a free ride.

The school wasn't exactly empty. The Principal and a few other teachers were present in the building. She spotted a couple of architects walking into the school, she knew their occupation thanks to her uncle who explained what was going on. The Principal and the architects were going to be discussing about the blueprints for the dormitories.

Feeling a little nervous, Mizuha maneuvered an arm out of one of her bag's shoulder straps and moved her bag in front of her. She zipped it open and was double checking the materials she packed, even though she checked at least ten times before leaving the house. It was the only thing she could do to try and calm the nerves she was having. What kind of tutor would she be if she couldn't compose herself? The mere thought of failing to help this student pass his make up test and making him unable to fully do his internship made her even more nervous. Surely, she wouldn't have to be feel totally responsible for it right? That student had to do his part in studying.

She was walking by her uncle's side as they walked to the school library. That would be the place where the tutoring sessions would take place.

Seeing how the destination wasn't too far from where they were, Eijin finally decided to mention something to his niece.

"By the way, when you finally move into the dorms… you're going to be busy during the remaining time you have left of summer vacation."

Confused, Mizuha narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean? I know I'm going to be tutoring this guy..."

"I'll leave the important news to Eraserhead… but you should know that you'll be a _little_ more busier with the tutoring. You'll have to cut time with whatever Aizawa has in store for you so that you can help with the tutoring."

Mizuha nearly threw her bag at her uncle. She froze in her tracks and scowled. "You're telling me this now?!" her hands were up in the air. "NOW?!" she pointed at the ground, emphasizing her word.

Eijin stopped walking and scratched the back of his head. "Now, now, there's no need to get angry." he motioned with his hands for her to calm down. "Like I told you, these sessions won't be held everyday. During those days when you have to cut time, I'll help you make up for it. You won't be missing out on anything."

Mizuha crossed her arms.

 _If I knew what Aizawa-sensei has planned… then I'd have no trouble taking my position regarding this tutoring thing. I could have evaluated how much trouble it could have been if whatever I'm going to be doing is going to make me busy!_

 _But it's too late now._

 _Even my conscience won't let me back out from this._

When they stopped in front of the doors of the room that the books owned, Mizuha felt a familiar prickly sensation on her skin as well as heat. Her sleeves were pulled down as far as they could to hide the redness of her skin.

He could practically feel nervousness radiating off of her. Eijin turned around and lightly ruffled her hair. "Try to relax."

When they both entered the library, she followed after her uncle as he walked to the area where most of the tables were situated. As they were about to turn past a bookshelf, her uncle asked loudly if the third year student. He didn't mention his name. A voice answered.

"Over here Kishokei-sensei!"

Eijin and Mizuha saw the student who answered. He was waving at his teacher with a smile. He was dressed in casual clothes just like her. He had bright blue eyes and blond hair styled… in a cow…lick…

 _Oh dear…_

The boy paused his waving and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. He expressed a surprised gasp when he laid his eyes on her. The teacher blinked in surprise. He looked down at his side where he found his niece expressing quiet surprise. Her eyes were slightly widened and her lips were pressed together, forming a tight line. Her eyes then averted away from the older boy.

Mizuha wasn't expecting the student to be tutoring the same one she ran into during the Sports Festival. When their eyes met for a few seconds, she darted her eyes away and merely fixed the floor ahead of her in attempt to remain cool.

Eijin placed a hand on his waist and tilted his head while pointing a thumb at his niece. "Togata, do you know her?"

The student known as Togata only smiled. "No, but we did run into each other once."

"Oh yeah?" Eijin looked at Mizuha, who was refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

Without another word, he placed a hand on her back and started guiding her to the table where Togata was seated. She moved like a doll.

"Well anyway, Togata, this will be your tutor for the next two weeks. Hyoumei Mizuha, she's my niece."

The older student stood up from his seat with a beaming smile. A smile that reached his eyes. If she could associate something with this guy, it would be the sun. He was smiling and was radiating his own sunshine.

"Nice to meet you Hyoumei! I'm Togata Mirio." He said with his overwhelming smile.

He held his hand out for a handshake.

Unlike Togata, she did not smile when she brought her hand in his to shake it. She only nodded her head and muttered. "Yeah, you too."

The way he held her hand… it just showed her just how confident this guy was.

Eijin firmly held her shoulder, making her look up at him.

"His grades aren't the best but he isn't completely hopeless."

 _Hah?_

Togata only laughed if off. "If she is as good as you tell me, I bet I could get the top scores in class after her tutoring sessions!"

Eijin merely chuckled while lazily slipped his hand off her shoulder. He held up a hand as he turned away from them and started walking back the way he came. "Well, you two have fun. Study well."

Mizuha watched his departing form with growing anxiety. Just as he turned around the corner, her eyes shut and she breathed in deeply. She would just need to suck it up and do her part. Mizuha's hand reached the chair behind her and pulled it out as she turned to face the table between them. She found him already sitting down, smiling. He had an eraser and a mechanical pencil ready at his disposal.

 _At least he's prepared…?_

She took off her bag and seated her self in the chair, sitting across from him. Her first objective was to get those papers out of her bag that was sitting on the chair next to her.

"I didn't think you'd be the one that Kishokei-sensei was talking about." he broke the silence. "He never told me my tutor would be a first year."

Mizuha shrugged. "That's only because I'm ahead of everyone else in this subject."

"That's pretty impressive!"

She took out the papers that her uncle gave her and placed it between them. Her body twisted to face her bag once more as she started digging for her own tools.

She had a good idea about his grades thanks to the one who arranged the whole tutoring. He wanted to give Mizuha a heads up, probably to prepare her and to try and be more patient with him if she ever snapped. First, she'd have do make him do some problems on his own and then assist him if he needed help solving them. Second, she'd have to figure out where things were going wrong and help him make his life easier by explaining things to him.

"So, where do we start?" he asked as set his phone face down on the other side of the table.

Mizuha brushed a piece of her hair behind her hair and shifted in her seat. "We'll go over the things you don't understand and we'll start from there."

For the next two hours, she would spend her time tutoring Togata. She was beginning to see why Togata didn't have the best grades. Academics were definitely not his strong suit. However, she did see how he was determined to get the best out of her tutoring. No doubt it was because he didn't want to have his internship suspended.

Mizuha observed Togata tap the carbon against the sheet of paper with a struggling expression. His other hand reached behind his neck as he faced down towards problem, trying to figure out what his next step should be.

Her sight dropped on his paper.

He was halfway done with it.

 _This is probably the fifth time he's doing the same problem… I'll have to be patient with him._

He started scowling.

Togata eyes darted up, contemplating whether or not he should reach out for her help or try one more time to figure it out on his own. He found her staring at his paper, her cheek was resting in her hand. She then blinked and her eyes met his, as if sensing that he stopped thinking.

For a brief moment, her eyes motioned towards the paper on his side, the one that had all the useful formulas written on it. The blond student looked at the paper. He set down his writing tool and picked it up. His eyes looked back at Mizuha who was now drawing a little start on the edge of her paper.

That's how it went. She did her job and explained things that he had trouble getting a good grasp on. If it looked like he really needed help, she would stop him and help. When it looked like he was on the right track but still struggling, she would subtly give a hint to what he needed without saying a word. She wanted him to feel more confident in trusting himself to make the next step, she didn't want him relying on her too much when finding the answers. There were times where he knew what to do but there were times where he did not.

…

…

…

Curious about the time, the older student reached for his phone and brought it towards him. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Whoa! It's already been two hours!"

Mizuha took out her own electronic device and checked the time. Indeed, it had been two hours, meaning their tutoring session was done for the day.

 _We didn't finish everything I hoped we would cover… but I guess it's fine. I'll just have to figure it out next time._

Togata swept his hand on the table and sent the little used pieces of his eraser flying down to the floor. Mizuha simply used her fingers to brush away hers since there wasn't much to begin with.

"Thanks for your help today." Togata started tapping his temple with his index finger. "I'm starting to understand things much better than I did before. I'm confident I could pass the make up test with no problem."

Mizuha dumped her belongings into her bag and shook her head. "We literally just started…"

She muttered those words but the total silence in the library almost made it clear.

"Did you say something?"

"I said I'm glad you're getting a better hang of it."

Togata beamed another one of his bright smiles. Mizuha nearly flinched from the radiance he was giving off. It was like the sun… and the bright sun makes her pretty tired.

"Well, I gotta run! I have to go my internship and tell them about my tutoring schedule. I need them to let me off during that time."

"… You do work-study during the summer?" she asked, curious.

He slung his bag on his shoulder and nodded. "Yup." he said popping the 'p'.

Mizuha then nodded slowly. "Well, see you next time." she said without looking at him, busying herself with zipping her bag close.

"Yeah, see you next time sensei!" he said in a joking manner, making her whip her head around just in time to see him run off backwards while waving at her. Then he disappeared around the corner and the sound of the library door sliding open and closing echoed in the room. Now, she was all alone.

Mizuha had both her hands on the top of her backrest. She let out a small sigh. She turned her body back around and then stood up to stretch her body. A yawn even escaped her mouth while she did so. The whole tutoring session was easy to do but it was tiring for her. It was probably because it was the only productive thing she had been doing ever since the Training Camp was canceled, she thought. Her fingers rubbed away the little tears that formed in the corner of her eyes. She lowered her arms and brushed the table once more just in case there wasn't anymore pieces of their erasers on it. Once she made sure it was clean, she turned around until her butt pressed against the furniture. Her hands planted itself on the edge and she boosted herself on the sturdy table. Her left foot helped her right foot wiggle out of the slip-on shoe she was wearing. Her shoe made an echoing noise as it fell flat on the tiled floor. Even if school wasn't in session, she was still going respect the material it housed. She put her hood and lied down on the table. Her left leg swung freely back and forth while her right leg was pulled up the table. She brought her phone up to her face and texted her uncle to tell him that she was done.

When he picked her up at her house, she was told that he'd be busy for at least twenty good minutes after her two hour sessions before he could take her home. He volunteered to help with something at school, keeping him busy while his niece tutored in the same building. He asked that she would at least tell him when she finished tutoring Togata so that he could try and finish up early.

With another yawn, Mizuha rolled onto her side. She faced the side where Togata was sitting before he left. She spent the next few minutes browsing the internet before her eyes started feeling droopy. She didn't know when exactly she feell asleep but when she woke up a good five minutes had passed. Instead of sleeping on the table, she decided to take a nap somewhere else. She hopped off the table and walked back to her chair. She took one of the chairs from the table behind her and placed it next to the one where her bag was. Mizuha was making herself her own little bed made out of chairs. Her hand effortlessly lifted up her bag and dumped it on the table. She put on her hood and trapped it underneath her headphones.

As Mizuha lied on her side, she spotted something on the floor.

A forgotten wallet was left sitting on the floor.. It was next to the chair that Togata was sitting on.

With an annoyed sigh, she got up and went around the table to pick it up.

She opened it and was greeted with the sight of student ID card.

 _Togata Mirio._

Mizuha ran her fingers in her hair in annoyance. "… Man, I can't believe he forgot something important. I'd never leave my wallet like this…"

It had already been ten minutes since he left the library, there was no way she was going to catch up with him. She didn't even know where he was going. She wasn't even allowed to leave the school.

She placed the wallet on the table, she decided to hope he would come back for it. If not, she'd have to keep it with her until their next meeting.

She went back to her 'bed'.

* * *

Eijin whistled in the hallway. He was finally done for the day. With dormitory system getting implemented, there were a couple of things that needed to get sorted out. It was tiring but it wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.

When he made it to the library, he heard the sound of shoes running against the floor. The sound was approaching him. With his dull eyes, he turned his head and saw a familiar boy running towards him.

Eijin lowered his hand from the door handle. "Togata? You're still here? I thought you had to see Sir Nighteye?"

Togata stopped in front of his teacher and rubbed the back of his neck. "I forgot my wallet…" he grinned sheepishly.

"… Let me guess… You only realized that when you got to the train station?"

"How did you know?"

"Never mind that. Just go and get it." Eijin pulled the door open and moved out of the way for him.

Togata didn't waste another second and went in. Eijin followed after him without even bothering to shut the door behind him. He wasn't going to be in there for too long anyway.

When Togata was able to see the table he was previously sitting at, he was surprised to see Mizuha sleeping on the chairs. His wallet was on the table, he was pretty sure he didn't leave anything on it when he left. She must have known he was coming back to get it.

Before he could contemplate about the scene in front of him even further, Eijin casually walked past him while whistling. The teacher picked up the wallet and held it up for Togata to see. Then he tossed it to him. Togata caught it effortlessly.

"Why is she still here?"

"When you guys finish your tutoring, I'll be busy for a while and she can't leave by herself because someone in the League of Villains has his eye on her. I bring her here and I leave with her." He gently shook her awake while taking off her headphones. "I guess she got bored and fell asleep."

One of Mizuha's hands rose up and grasped for the middle chair's backrest to help herself up into a sitting position. Eijin pinched the back of her hood and pulled it off her head, revealing her hair in a slightly messy state. Her eyes were squinted and she had a slight frown on her face. Eijin flicked strand of her hair that was stabbing her eye, making her flinch in response.

Mizuha noticed that Togata was present.

Lazily, she pointed at the wallet in his hands.

"You forgot your wallet." she said.

As if that wasn't obvious enough.

* * *

It happened during their second meeting.

Togata wasn't in a rush to leave after their session ended. Even if he was permitted to have time off from his internship for his tutoring session, he didn't head home. He stayed.

His arms were folded, he leaned closer with a smile. "So, how about we get out of here?"

Mizuha reflexively leaned away from him and titled her head. "Hah?"

With his things packed, he put his bag on his back and stood up from his chair. He walked around the table and grabbed her arm to pull her up from her seat. Despite being on high alert and being cautious when he approached, she found herself shocked at how he easily pulled her up to her feet.

"Wa-wait!" Mizuha protested as she found herself getting pulled along. She whipped her head back towards the table and stretched her free arm as far as she could to grab her bag off the chair.

…

…

…

"Here ya go."

"… A popsicle?"

A brow shifted upwards on Togata's face when she stared at blue popsicle in his hands. "You don't like popsicles?"

Mizuha eyed the popsicle he was holding out for her. Her right hand slowly rose up and reached for the stick. When her thumb firmly locked the stick against her index and middle finger, Togata removed his fingers from around it and moved his hand away. Mizuha bit off a piece of the cold treat and chewed on it.

After he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the library, she followed after him without protesting. He might even try to drag her back if she darted back in the library as quietly as she could. He hummed a happy tune as he led the way to an unknown destination. What she didn't expect was the fact that they ended up in the cafeteria of all places. It was obviously deserted. The only light was the sunlight coming through the large windows. After Togata dropped his bag on a chair, he told her to wait a moment. Mizuha took a seat and just watched him hop over the counter and open the fridge. He opened the refrigerator part of it and came back with the two popsicles.

Mizuha leaned back against the chair. "So, why the popsicles?"

He smiled at her. "Why not? Isn't it nice to have some type of reward after hard work?"

The girl bit off another piece. "I guess." she shrugged.

"When I was a first year, I used to get tutored by a third year. After a while, he started bringing popsicles to school." he said with a grin as he remembered the memory. He pointed back at where he took the treats from. "He'd also put them in there and we'd just get them after tutoring."

 _… If that's so then according to that memory… the tutor should be buying these treats not the tutee._

Mizuha paused just when she was about to bite again. Her eyes darted up from her popsicle and they widened as they stared at Togata. "… Did you buy these?"

He nodded and bite off a piece of his popsicle.

Mizuha clicked her tongue and looked down. "I didn't bring any money."

Togata chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine. I don't expect you to pay me back."

"You sure?"

"Just accept it, Hyoumei. It's from your senior!"

She shrunk. "… okay."

 _He just had to pull the senior card…_

"Oh crap. Wait..." Mizuha stuck the popsicle in her mouth before reaching down for her bag that was resting in between her legs. After zipping her bag open, she stuck her right hand inside and stared up at nothing in particular as she tried feeling for her phone. She really found it in the depths over her bag, it was just hiding underneath her pencil case. Once she had it in her reach, she pulled it out and placed it on the table so that she could close her bag.

"I just need to tell my uncle where I am right now just in case he finishes his work early." Mizuha said as she started composing a quick text for Eijin with one hand.

"Oh right." Togata sweat dropped. "We wouldn't want Kishokei-sensei worrying for no reason…"

As she composed her text, she couldn't help but think how odd it was that she was relaxing with her tutee in the deserted cafeteria as if it wasn't unusual. Her mind was wondering how she even ended up in this situation when she would obviously just turn him down. If anything, she would have stood her ground back in the library and insisted that would remain there just like she did the last time their session ended. That's how she would have preferred it…

It was just weird how things didn't end up the way it was supposed to.

… She wasn't about to just get up and return back to the library with a popsicle in her hand while leaving Togata to himself. It wouldn't seem right, even she knew that.

When Mizuha shoved her phone into her pocket, she simply kept her eyes glued on the snack. Her timid self was surfacing. However, she could tell from her peripheral vision that Togata was staring at her. As if… he was observing her attentively.

"What?"

He blinked and then suddenly smiled. "Oh, nothing. It's just that your mannerisms remind me of someone I know."

Mizuha didn't know how or want to respond to that. Instead, she slowly nodded before moving her eyes and staring at something towards the left side of the cafeteria in front of her. She was debating whether or not she should put on her headphones and avoid an awkward silence and conversation altogether.

"You had internships before the summer break, right?"

Mizuha's eyes moved back to Togata, who was still smiling.

 _Seriously how can this guy keep smiling so naturally?_

"Yes. It was a little after the Sports Festival…" said Mizuha while finishing off slowly. She wasn't sure if she needed to mention the event since he probably knew about it. After all, he was a third year. He most likely knew about the things they were planning to do during first year. Unless some changes had been made… like the sudden dormitory system.

"I heard you were one of the students that placed third." he pointed his popsicle at her. "You got a lot of offers, didn't you?"

Mizuha remembered the number of offers that were displayed on the board the day Aizawa revealed it to them. It was after finally got a hold of herself and finally moved past the things that were holding her back. She remembered feeling regretful.

She cringed.

"… Yeah, but I could have gotten more if I didn't act the way I did during one of my matches…"

"Oh, you mean at the end of your match with Mokuen?"

Mizuha lowered the popsicle she was about to bite with a scowl. "So, you know about it too…"

He only grinned. "I heard it circulating around the school."

She leaned back in her seat and nibbled on her treat. It's not like she could do anything to control the words circulating around the school, she couldn't exactly tell the world she didn't mean to be like that because that would be half true. Now that she finally stepped out of the dark place she trapped herself in, she knew that she actually meant what she did to the girl. Her feelings were true at that time. She wanted Mokuen to keep her mouth shut from making things even more difficult for her.

What was important now was how she chose to show herself in the future.

"Which agency did you choose to do your internship at?" Togata asked curiously, looking pretty interested in the topic of the conversation.

"Uh… Fatgum's Hero Office."

"Oh! I have a friend who goes there for his internship!" he exclaimed.

This surprised Mizuha. Her eyes widened a little at this new information. It never crossed her mind that Taishiro had other students from her school coming over to his agency for work-study.

"Like… do you remember that person you bumped into when we first met?" he asked her while moving his index finger between them. "He goes to Fatgum's Hero Agency for his work-study."

Mizuha mentally fetched for the memory that contained their first meeting. It was right after she threw away her empty cup of noddles in the trash, she bumped into a third year and she nearly fell backwards if Togata did not reach out to her in time. After he helped her back on her feet, she remembered a shaky looking third year who apologized while not making eye contact. She actually remembered thinking that he looked familiar.

 _… He actually did look familiar…_

 _Did I see that guy before…?_

 _… Somewhere in school… but when…?_

 _…_

 _…_

Mizuha's eyes widened again and she stopped midway from biting her popsicle. She then lowered her hand and hunched her head forward and stared at a random tile on the floor as her mouth reduced its size. Her eyes lightly narrowed at that particular tile.

It was right after the USJ incident. She was shaken up from the whole incident and the sight of Aizawa was enough to give her a very light PTSD, making her cry.

* * *

 _She slammed into another body unintentionally. Both of them were knocked down to the floor with a yelp. Whoever she knocked down now found themselves on their rear while Mizuha found herself facing the floor right next to them. Her hood was still on her head._

 _Mizuha sniffed and cursed as she got on her knees._

 _"A-Ah... I-I'm sorry..." they said._

 _Mizuha shook her head and apologized twice before standing up and walking in front of them. She looked down at the student that she bumped into. It was a guy with dark messy hair and noticeable pointy ears. He had a flustered look on his face as she reached for his hand to help him up._

* * *

She felt hot from the embarrassment.

Togata grew concerned when she suddenly froze in her seat. He called her name once but she didn't even blink. He waved a hand in front of her face and called her name once more in attempt to bring her back from whatever land she flew off to. She blinked and shook her head and suddenly stared at Togata with a startled expression.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said before chomping a piece of her icy treat. "I just remembered that I might have met your friend somewhere…" she said honestly.

Togata opened his mouth to say something but he cut himself off when he heard something. Mizuha's ears also picked up on the sound. It sounded like shuffling.

The sound of shuffling footsteps echoed from the corridor; each shuffle grew louder as it approached the cafeteria. With that simple information, Mizuha's brain immediately began painting a picture of the person that was connected to this particular shuffling sound. If it was a sound she often heard, then it easily began recognizable. At first, she pictured her homeroom teacher approaching. Whenever Aizawa walked around the classroom or in the hallway, she was able to recognize the distinctive sound of his footsteps. He often walked without a sound but he would occasionally drag his feet and make noise as he walked. It happened in a certain pattern too. However, these footsteps were echoing as if the owner was really dragging their feet while taking long strides.

It became obvious who the approaching person was.

Mizuha looked away from the entrance and directed her eyes at her popsicle that was now halfway done.

She opened her mouth to speak—

"That must be Kishokei-sensei." Togata said, beating her to it.

Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow and slightly tilted her head to the side, surprised and curious about how he knew.

"You realized it too?"

"He's probably the only one who walks like this. I would know, he always walks into the classroom like that."

"Like how?"

Togata began imitating footsteps under the table while making some shuffling sounds with his shoes. Then he slouched a little and copied the same dull eyes that her uncle usually had when walking into the classroom at the sound of the bell. He also mimicked the way her uncle would drop his teaching materials on the teacher's desk.

That last action was what did it for her. She was starting to laugh lightly, trying to restrain her mirth. It was amusing to her how he actually nailed his imitation of her uncle. It was practically almost perfect.

"Yeah!" she nodded. "He's just like that!"

At the sudden change of her tone of voice, neutral to happy, Togata perked up in his seat. His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he smiled. "Hey! You finally smiled!" he pointed at her.

When he pointed this out, Mizuha blinked and her smile dropped as a slightly surprised expression took over. She let out a confused sound as she registered his words. However, before she could even say anything, two clear footsteps finally arrived at the entrance of the cafeteria, echoing inside. They stopped walking and announced their presence with an unenthusiastic greeting.

"Hey, you guys." he drawled.

As predicted, Eijin was standing by the cafeteria. His dull eyes were fixated on them while a lazy smile spread on his lips. He lifted up his left hand and held it up as a way to greet them physically while his right hand held a cup of coffee. His spiky platinum hair was leaning towards the left as he slowly tilted his head on the side where Mizuha was sitting, he seemed to have noticed the treat in her hands since his eyes began to squint. He didn't recall any vending machines that offered icy treats and Lunch Rush wasn't in the building either, meaning the snack came from outside.

"Oi, Mizuha." Eijin addressed her as he started walking inside towards their table. This time, his footsteps weren't shuffling. The sound of his footsteps gave him a more serious vibe, which was exactly how he was looking at his niece.

Innocently, she looked at her uncle in confusion at the tone of his voice. It sounded like she was in for some type of scolding. It was obvious that Eijin didn't seem pleased with something. Togata's eyes darted between the two.

"You went outside to buy popsicles," Eijin held up his hand in Mizuha's direction. "Didn't I and the police warn you about going out on your own?"

Mizuha narrowed her eyes and pouted. "I didn't go outside!" she instantly defended herself.

"I was the one who bought these." Togata interrupted while waving his own popsicle. "I bought these before coming inside the school. I just dropped it off here before the tutoring session." He explained while pointing at the refrigerator behind them.

Eijin lowered his hand. "Oh."

Mizuha frowned and turned her head away. "I'm not stupid. I understand the situation I'm in and I'm not trying to make things worse. You got yourself worried for no reason."

Eijin only sighed as he approached Mizuha to give her an affectionate ruffle on her hair. Instead of fighting his gesture, she simply sat there and took it with her pouting face.

"I'll always worry about you, okay?"

She only hummed and looked up at him, showing him that she knew full well that he would.

"Anyway," The Pro-Hero retracted his hand away from her head and shoved it into his pocket. "I'm done for the day. I can take you home now."

Mizuha nodded and got up from her seat while slinging her back onto her shoulder.

"Thanks for babysitting her, Togata." Eijin grinned.

The girl gave her uncle a tired look.

The blond boy shook his head with a smile and also started getting up. "I just wanted to try and get to know my tutor better."

For Togata, it wasn't hard to notice that Mizuha was reserved. She knew how to tutor him in her own way which required less interaction. Her method seemed effective considering it was already producing some good minor results, which was actually a great feat for Togata. He thought that this was because she wanted less interaction as possible because she was one of those lone wolf types. However, with only one session of tutoring, he was able to recognize some certain quirks that resembled the ones that belonged to his shy friend. It seemed like to him that her aloofness seemed to be a type of disguise to mask her shyness. He wanted to try and make her less aloof and more comfortable around him. The popsicle idea was a good idea considering how she finally smiled around him.

Togata tagged along with the two on the way out. He was proudly telling his teacher how he was going to be able to nail the make up test now that he was getting the hang of it.

Mizuha subtly glanced at her senior that was walking on the other side of Eijin who was walking between them. He really seemed the type to be very optimistic about things, especially since he was always beaming smile. Even when he found the work difficult, instead of frowning in frustration he would smile and ask for her help sheepishly.

At first, she thought she would have to deal with some cocky and probably dumb student but she was actually glad the person she was tutoring turned out to be someone she didn't imagine at all.

Mizuha bit off the last bit of her popsicle and chewed on the food with an absent mind while keeping her pace with her uncle. It wasn't until she gulped down the last bit of her treat that her attentive mind came back. Her ears listened to the chattering of the two older males next to her and she boringly held up her wooden little stick in front of her eyes. It was just a simple little popsicle stick that was wet and sticky. Her hand lazily turned it around so that she could check the backside of it.

She blinked.

 ** _WINNER_**

She stared at the word. Maybe she was imagining things.

No. No matter how many times she blinked, it still remained there.

 _These are one of those rare popsicle sticks that let's you get things for free… I never got one before._

It probably wouldn't hurt to ask her uncle to stop by somewhere before the next tutoring session.


	17. Chapter 17: Respite

They received another letter from the school, it concerned the important dates that involved moving into the dormitory. The first date was about when they should be done packing their belongings so that it would be ready for the pick up. The second date was about when the students should be finally settling in.

As she packed her things with her mother, her nervousness about living away from home kept on growing. Of course, she knew that she was allowed to leave the dorm to visit her family under the permission of the school.

However, simply reminding herself that she wasn't going to be alone was somehow helping her mental state, easing her worries.

Her good friend Byakuren was going to be there. They communicated via phone call and talked about the dorm. He admitted he was a little nervous too about moving in but he also excited about the idea since it was a brand new experience.

Her uncle would be there too. He could easily communicate with her parents if something was up or anything like that.

Above all, she was going to be surrounded by her classmates. She was never going to be alone. The school was going to make sure of that after all.

When the second date finally arrived, Mizuha was actually pretty calm and not jumpy about it. Instead of taking the public transportation, her family was going to drop her off at school together. It was her mom's suggestion.

Dressed in her school uniform, Mizuha climbed into the backseat and sat behind her mother. The door of the car's trunk opened, piquing her curiosity. She glanced back and saw her brother carefully placing a box inside the car.

"Why the box?" she asked while fastening her seat belt.

Shiran looked up at her and smiled. "A friend of mine asked if I could buy some stuff for him. After dropping you off, we'll head over to his place to drop this off and I'll get my money back." he explained to her before ducking out the trunk and closing it.

Mizuha turned back around and tilted her body to look at her mother from the side. "Is that why he was out most of the time this week?"

Mizuki nodded with a hum.

Shiran opened the other backseat door and hopped inside the car where the entire family was waiting for him. He fastened his seat belt and pointed in front of him. "Let's go!" he said cheerfully.

…

…

…

"Listen to your teachers, okay?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Don't forget to eat your lunch. Don't just starve."

"Fine."

"Don't forget to study."

Mizuha scoffed at this. "You already know I won't forget to study."

Mizuki then sighed. She reached for Mizuha's shirt collar and fixed it. "And please try to fix your uniform before you go out. I swear, you and your brother never pay attention to that."

Mizuha shrugged. "I just put it on and leave."

"Exactly." Shiran agreed. "I never checked myself carefully when I used to go to U.A."

Eijin approached Mizuha and Mizuki. He placed his hand on his niece's head and patted his sister's shoulder. "Alright, Mizuki. I think that's enough. You can call or text her the rest of your motherly instructions."

Mizuki looked her brother. "And I'm counting on you to make sure she's okay."

Eijin held up his hands and moved his eyes upwards. "Yes, yes, my dear sister."

Mizuha had to look around before giving her father a kiss on the cheek, an embarrassing action even for her. She and Shiran hugged tightly while he _tried_ to mess up her hair. And she gave her mother a tight hug before finally walking onto U.A campus with her uncle. As she walked past the new buildings, she noticed that each there was a dorm reserved for each class, you could tell from the huge sign with the year number and class letter.

"Impressive, isn't it?"

Mizuha looked at her uncle. "… When were these buildings built?"

Eijin looked up, trying to recall.

He slowly held up three fingers.

"Three weeks?" she guessed.

"No. Three days."

"WHAT?" Mizuha's eyes widened.

Was she blind?! She never saw the buildings being halfway done after her tutoring sessions with Togata.

Her uncle pointed at one of the buildings and gently pushed her towards it before walking off to the main building of the campus. He had business to attend to at school. Eijin was quick to remind her about her tutoring sessions with her senior before finally turning around and walking away.

Mizuha rubbed her hand against the back of her neck as she stared after him. She probably spent a good ten seconds watching her uncle become smaller and smaller before finally moving her own feet, walking on the path that led to Class 1-A's dorm. Her hand aimlessly rose up as she approached the bushes around the area. Her fingers casually brushing past the bush leaves. She saw a number of her classmates gathered around in front of the building, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. Aizawa was at the front looking as tired as always. As her footsteps became more audible to the others, she saw Ashido and Jiro turn around curiously. They were followed by a couple of other students who exclaimed her name.

Uraraka and Kirishima were the first to greet her.

"Mizuha! You're here!" the brunette smiled while waving her hand.

"I knew you were going to show up soon." Kirishima said with a grin. He already caught on to her punctual habits.

Mizuha held up a hand in response. "I'm here." she said with a higher volume than usual to announce her presence not only to her two classmates but also to her homeroom teacher.

Her eyes scanned the group for a white haired boy but didn't seem to locate him. Her mind didn't dwell on it for too long. He was either taking his sweet time or was running late. As soon as her eyes directed themselves back in front of her, she nearly yelped from the sudden blur of red that rushed in her direction, towards her. Kirishima lunged at her for a hug with a happy grin while she simply looked bewildered, trying to also maintain her balance due to the unstable footing she was on when he got to her.

As quick as he hugged her, he pulled away threw and arm around her as he guided her to the rest of the class. Mizuha was stiff in her walk, she moved in sync with him and was still a little surprised from his surprise embrace.

He looked at her from the side. "You got permission too, huh? I'm glad!"

Oh. He was happy to see her. Of course.

The right side of her mouth tugged upwards. "Yeah." she said, "Although, my dad was against it at first…" she trailed off, remembering how he refused to budge from his decision for five days.

Mizuha straightened up properly once he released her. "What about you? How did—"

They heard Aizawa clap his hands, catching their attention.

"Everyone's all here now."

Curiously, Mizuha looked over her shoulder and found four more students approaching the building. Byakuren, Kaminari, Sero and Sato.

Instead of finishing her question, Mizuha fell silent like the rest of the class and waited for the Pro Hero to begin speaking again. Her attention did not divert when she felt her close friend place a hand on her shoulder, greeting her through that simple gesture. Just as the cloud above them passed over their heads, allowing the sun to brightened everything around them, Aizawa started speaking to them.

"For now, I'm just glad that we were able to bring Class 1-A back together again."

"And we're glad to see you here, sensei." commented Tsuyu, "When I watched the press conference, I thought we'd lose the teachers, and it made me sad."

Uraraka nodded. "Yeah."

"I was surprised, too." admitted the Pro Hero, "Well, I'm sure everyone has different circumstances." he said before looking off to the side while scratching his head for a brief moment before lowering his hand and looking back at the young students in front of him. "Now, I'll explain briefly about the dorms, but before that… we will focus on getting the provisional licenses we were planning to have you get during the training camp."

Mizuha then scowled.

 _… Now, I see. We're going back to training and that's probably what Uncle Eijin was talking about when he said I was going to get a bit busier._

She held in the urge to let out a loud groan of despair and simply chose to lower her head and drop her face in her hand.

"This is important. Listen up."

Mizuha sighed and looked back up.

"Kirishima,"

Said boy next to her blinked in surprise as his name was called.

"Yaoyorozu,"

Mizuha cringed, understanding where this was going.

Byakuren let out a heavy breath.

"Todoroki, Midoriya, Iida. On that night, you five headed out to rescue Bakugo."

At that, everyone became stiff. Some students averted their eyes away from their teachers while others simply chose to remain quiet. They all tensed. Mizuha was one of those who chose to remain silent while Byakuren quietly clicked his tongue and rubbed the back of his neck.

Of course, their teacher was going to find out about it.

"And judging by your reactions, you all were aware of it." he sighed. "I'm going to set aside a number of issues and say this… If it weren't for All Might's retirement, I would've expelled everyone here except Bakugo, Jiro and Hagakure."

The platinum blonde haired girl pushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek. Even if she wanted to say some thing, she understood that he had every right to do so.

"Of course the five that went, but also the others who knew but didn't stop them betrayed our trust, no matter the reason. I would be grateful if you could follow the proper procedures and act properly in order to regain that trust. That is all." Aizawa turned around and began walking to the dorm's entrance. "Now, we're going inside. Look lively."

Mizuha hunched her head forward and stared at Aizawa figure while holding a hand out. "Look lively? Are you serious?" she muttered.

Byakuren frowned.

There was no way that anyone was going to look lively after that. They were all feeling down now that they knew they disappointed their teacher. Mizuha and Byakuren both looked at each other, unsure of what they should do.

"Come on here"

"What? Get off me!"

Everyone turned around, curious about what was happening. Bakugo grabbed Kaminari by the shirt and forcefully dragged him all the way behind a bush, completely hidden from everyone's sight. A few seconds later, everyone jolted by the sudden flash of electricity. Then, Kaminari stupidly stumbled out of the bush looking like… well an idiot. The gloomy mood was instantly replaced by the sound of laughter. As everyone laughed at Kaminari's ridiculous display, Mizuha saw Bakugo step out from behind the bush and pull out his wallet from his back pocket. He walked to where she and Kirishima were standing and called the boy next to her as he handed him cash.

Byakuren and Mizuha's eyes widened in surprise.

Kirishima took a step back. "Wait, you're scaring me!" he pointed at the money. "What is this? Did you shake someone down for money?!"

"No!" snapped Bakugo. "I brought this cash myself. You used up all your allowance, right?"

Kirishima blinked and he had a look of understanding on his face. "Yeah but… where did you hear about me buying night-vision googles—?"

Bakugo didn't even let him finish his sentence since he shoved the money in his chest and stomped away. Mizuha caught a stray bill that slipped from Kirishima's fingers and handed it to him while staring at Bakugo's back, surprised by his action.

"Word always gets out with so many idiots around."

 _And that was another one of Bakugo's rare moments._

* * *

The moment they stepped in the building, the class was filled with awe at the sight of the interior. They were already amazed.

"Each student dorm building holds one class. Girls on the right, and the boys on the left. But the first floor is the common area."

Mizuha and Byakuren walked towards one of the large windows further inside. It seemed like there was a courtyard just outside those windows. The platinum blonde haired girl noticed handles on the glass door and casually pulled it open for a brief moment to stare before closing it. It was spacious.

"Food, baths and laundry are on this floor."

"There's even a courtyard!"

"So spacious! So clean! And a sofa!"

Byakuren pointed up at the ceiling with awed expression. "Hey, Mizuha, check it out! A skylight!"

Mizuha whipped her head around at the call of her name. As she was about to join her friend to see what caught his attention, she heard someone talk.

"Baths and laundry are in the common area? Is this a dream?"

Mineta suddenly felt a chill up his spine.

"They're separated by gender." Aizawa added. "You better watch yourself."

"…Got it…"

As Mineta moved away from the Pro Hero, he felt another chill and looked at where the aura was coming from. He turned his head and made eye contact with Hyoumei who was staring at him, her palm open with ice swirling around it. She stared at him with a look of disgust. He was beginning to have flashbacks of Mizuha's punishments.

…

…

…

"The rooms start on the second floor. There are four rooms per gender on each floor with five floors in total. Everyone gets their own room. They're luxurious spaces equipped with air conditioners, toilets, refrigerators and closets."

Aizawa pointed at the paper plan stuck to the wall. "These are your room assignments. The luggage you sent over earlier should already be in your rooms." he informed. "Unpack and settle in for today and we'll talk about what comes next tomorrow. That's all. Dismissed!"

The homeroom teacher then left the class to find their rooms and to settle in. They all huddled together in front of the plan, they were eager to know where they were and who was going to be their neighbors. Her name did not appear on the second of third floor. Her eyes moved to the second row and found her name on the fourth floor. The inhabitants of the fourth floor were Hyoumei, Ashido and Uraraka on the girls' side and Shoji, Kirishima, Bakugo on the boys'. Her room was right next to the brunette and right in front of Kirishima's if it were not for the wall.

Aizawa glanced back at his students for a moment before pulling out his phone on his way out.

* * *

When she got to her room, she immediately felt like dropping on her bed and forgetting about all the boxes. There were so many damn boxes. There were boxes everywhere in the room. They all scattered too for goodness sake. Most of them found themselves in the center of the room while a couple were just sitting in the corners. Whoever was delivering these boxes was probably amusing himself when he did his job. Her balcony door was open too! That was odd. She wasted no time in shutting and locking it.

She figured the job would be a little easier with some tunes so she picked up her wireless headphones and set her playlist on shuffle after changing into more comfortable clothes to move around in.

She set down her phone on her desk and sighed heavily.

"Alright… here we go."

…

…

…

Bakugo's eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed, confused at the sight before him. He was nearly done with his unpacking and was left with only few boxes left in his room. The contents of the box did not seem familiar to him at all. It was bathroom supplies such as towels, toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo and all that. Too much blue as well. A certain article inside the box did give away a hint to whom it might belong to though. There were two bottles of fragrance mist inside, from the distance he was at he could faintly smell cherry blossoms coming from one of them. No doubt about it, this box obviously belonged to a female in his class. Question was who?

There was a knock at his door but whoever announced their presence did not wait for him to answer, they simply entered.

With a growl, Bakugo got up from his squat and turned around. "What do you want?"

His friendly neighbor merely crossed his arms and leaned on the door frame. "You done with unpacking?"

He was taking a break from unpacking his things.

"Not yet and some idiot brought the wrong box to my room."

Curious, Kirishima pushed himself off the wall and strode over to the box he was standing in front of, peering down. It was true, the items inside did not belong to someone like Bakugo.

Something instantly caught his eye. A blue striped towel and the fragrance mist bottle that smelled like spring cherry blossoms.

"… I think I might have an idea of who this might belong to."

It took much persuading from Kirishima but he was able to bring Bakugo along with him. The latter was refusing to go since he figured Kirishima already knew the owner and therefore wanted to dump the responsibility on him so that he can focus on his own task. The first wasn't having any of it, seeing through his little plan pretty easily.

Kirishima stood in front of the door while Bakugo looked impatient with the box, now shut closed, in his hands.

"Mizuha?" he knocked on her door but didn't hear her voice. He only heard the sound of her footsteps and the sound rustling. "I'm coming in." he said before turning the doorknob and pushing the door open.

Her room looked fairly tidy despite the two boxes hogging up the space in the middle and the other in the corner. There were empty boxes just piled up outside on her veranda, most likely to move the unnecessary obstacles out of her way. They were just in time to see her finish setting up her comforter on her bed and patting it down to smooth out the wrinkles. Her head was bobbing up and down and she was mumbling the lyrics of a song they couldn't make out from her low volume. She moved to crouch next to the next box and didn't even realize their presence.

She couldn't hear them because of her headphones.

Amused, Kirishima called out her name louder but still got no response from the shorter girl. Instead, Bakugo pushed past Kirishima with an annoyed groan and walked into her room.

She sensed him walking in.

Immediately, Mizuha straightened up from her position and stared at the intruders in her room like a deer in headlights. A surprised yelp escaped her being and her hands shook a little from being startled. Her rough and quick movement made her headphones drop down around her neck. An entertaining sight. It's not everyday they get to see the cool Mizuha so jumpy. Once she realized who was entering her room, her body relaxed and she sported a slight annoyed yet relieved expression. She opened her mouth to say something but Bakugo didn't give her the chance to when he stomped over to her and shoved the box in front of her face.

"This yours?" he asked while opening the box to show her.

Her eyes dropped down and landed on the articles hiding inside and was surprised. "Yeah… but how'd you get it?"

Bakugo scoffed and pushed the box into her arms, getting rid of the nuisance. "An idiot brought this to the wrong room." he turned around and walked to the door but then stopped to look over his shoulder. "And next time, write your damn name on the box."

With a slight pout, Mizuha set down the box. "Well, thanks for dropping it off."

"Whatever. I was going to toss it in the hallway."

"Wooow."

He pointed at Kirishima. "And don't thank me, thank this one. He knew it was yours." he said before making his way out of the room, walking past the other boy.

"I had an idea from the towel and that bottle. I saw the same towel in your bathroom and the bottle in your room. Plus, you seem to like the color blue a lot." Kirishima explained, happy that his memory served to be useful.

"I'm surprised you remember those details despite only coming into my house once." Mizuha laughed lightly, impressed. She got on her knees and started taking out the objects inside the returned box.

"Hey, do you want me to help you unpack and stuff?" Kirishima offered, taking a few steps into the room and taking a seat on her bed.

He wasn't done with his unpacking, but seeing how Mizuha was almost done with hers, he thought it wouldn't hurt to help out while he was already there so that she could finally relax. And maybe, just maybe, she might be generous enough to return the favor and help him out too.

Mizuha froze for a moment. Her mind remembered what she packed in the box with such speed and was trying to recall what she already unpacked. She was pretty sure she already put away her smallclothes in the closet where they belonged. If she was going to allow him help her then she should first determine whether or not things that should not be seen were already sorted out and dealt with.

"I—"

She heard it. She heard something move in the corner of her room. She whipped her head around and bolted up into a standing position, letting out another surprised sound for the second time today. She nearly tripped over the box she looking into before finally stabilizing her herself. Kirishima had also been freaked out by the sudden sound in the box, it was near him too. He practically leaped away from the bed, turning around and taking a couple of staggering steps backwards towards Mizuha.

The box in the corner of the room was open and it slightly wobbled.

"What the hell was that?!" Mizuha nearly yelled.

"There's something in the box!" Kirishima said while trying to peek inside from his spot.

"No shit! Thanks for pointing out the obvious!"

It didn't take them much time to build up courage to look inside, after all, they were at least three times bigger than that box and probably six times bigger than whatever was inside. They went near it as if they were nearing a spider that could suddenly jump them.

Mizuha brought up her leg and kicked off the slipper, figuring she would at least want to keep her slipper as sanitary as possible, and reached her foot towards the edge of the box, tipping it over.

A little white creature came tumbling out of the box, rolling over twice before standing on its four legs. It looked around before setting its sights on the two teenagers standing a few feet away.

It started padding towards them.

In unison they both spoke.

"A puppy?"

Hyoumei and Kirishima both got down on their knees and watched the puppy stand before them. Mizuha cautiously reached for the little animal, watching its reaction before gently placing both her hands on its little body, slightly shaking it.

Kirishima reached his hand over to its head and started rubbing it. "I thought you didn't have a dog…"

Because there was no sign of a dog living in her home when he dropped by those two times.

"Yeah… because I don't." Mizuha removed her hands away from the little dog and crawled over to the box to see its contents. Meanwhile, Kirishima brought the puppy to himself and held it.

Inside the toppled box was a red fluffy blanket, a small bag of dog food and a paper taped to the side. She grabbed the box and moved back to her spot next to her friend and held the box in front of them, angled it in a way where they could both read the paper inside.

It read:

'Dear Mizuha, I hope you like your gift. Please contact me when you finally discover the little guy so I can see your reaction (through video call plz). Sincerely, big bro Shiran.'

Mizuha gaped and dropped the box. Her eyes flickered towards Kirishima and then she lowered her head to stare at the little doggy in his hands. The little animal only tilted his head, staring back at her innocently.

"This is **_my_** dog?! What the hell!"

"Aw come on, it's not bad. He's cute little guy. It's a nice gift from your brother."

"That's not the point… No one told me I was getting a dog! Is my mom even aware of this?! Someone should tell me if it's important like this! I'm going to raise a frigging dog AT SCHOOL?! I'm not prepared for this!"

"… okay relax you can ask your brother about it; he did say to contact him. And I don't think raising a dog in the dorm would be a problem, after all we're allowed to bring pets in here."

"But… But I have to train it— oh my god, what if this dog has massive separation anxiety… that's not going to be good. I gotta pick up its poop on walks…"

Kirishima sweat dropped at that last part. "Well, yeah. That's one of the responsibilities of a dog owner."

Mizuha groaned and dropped herself on the floor, face facing the ceiling above her. "This is not good… I'm going to be a terrible dog owner…"

Kirishima set down the dog and stared at her with a frown. He patted her forehead. "Don't put yourself down before you even try. C'mon, you might—"

Mizuha turned her head towards Kirishima and looked at him dead in the eyes. "I've had little fishes as pets. Majority of them died due to lack of food and negligence."

Her friend's mouth became slightly agape at this revelation. Those poor little fishes.

The dog whimpered.

"This dog ain't gonna live if I raise it."

* * *

…

…

…

 _"Awh, come on. Why are you like this?"_

Mizuha threw up her hands in the air. "Because you gave me a puppy!"

 _"Most girls would be ecstatic to have one, y'know?"_

"Yeah, well." she dropped her hands and rolled her eyes. "I thought you'd figure out by now that _I am not_ like most girls."

Shiran sighed behind the screen. _"True, but come on, are you really that upset about this?"_

Mizuha's shoulders slumped in her seat and turned her head to look over her shoulder. Behind her, the nameless puppy was snoozing on her bed atop the blanket it came with. Kirishima was no longer in her room as per her request. She insisted he finish his own task and let her deal with hers along with the new roommate she was dumped with. She had to put the dog back in the box while she finished her room, not wanting the little dog to get in the way and accidentally getting crushed by her foot or something. When all was done, she sat down and opened up her laptop on her desk to call her brother after taking it out of to box.

He was clearly expecting her call.

Apparently, the box he brought in the car was actually the box that was carrying the puppy. He waited for her to be out of sight before sneaking on campus and climbing up to her balcony with the help of his Quirk. He purposely scattered them so that it wouldn't look suspicious. When Aizawa allowed the students to go and settle themselves in their room, he took that as his cue to leave the box in a certain corner of the room with the top open so that the little puppy could breathe. And like a ninja, he escaped stealthily from her balcony and ran back to the car that was waiting for his return.

Mizuha could have heard the dog in the box… if it weren't for her ears being filled with the sound of her music.

The more the stared at the white dog, the more she became less anxious and soft towards it.

She, too, sighed before she turned to face her laptop. She ran her fingers in her hair and frowned. "Every time I asked mom if we could get a dog, she always told me that it was like raising a child. If I can't take care of myself… then how could I possibly take care of that?"

Shiran propped his head up with his hand. _"You'll be fine. Stop worrying about it. Don't stress about it when you've hardly begun living with the little guy. Plus, it'll help you with your sense of responsibility, I guess."_

"You guess?" Mizuha give him a look, but then groaned. "Are _dogs_ even allowed in the dorm? Dogs bark."

 _"Well, I asked Aizawa-senpai on his way out of our house about it and even though he didn't agree with it, the school was permitting it."_

"Wait, _that's_ why you offered to walk them out?!"

 _"You would be surprised though. Raising a pet is actually another lesson in life."_

He was ignoring her.

She gave her brother a defeated look. "Okay, fine. I'll try… but if things aren't working out then I'll ask you to come and get him."

Shiran nodded and waved his hand dismissively. _"Pick a name for him."_

Mizuha moved her desk chair as quietly as she could and moved away from the monitor to make it look like she was sitting next to her brother.

"… Shiro? Haku? Byaku?"

 _"That's pretty clich_ _é, sis. You're basically just saying white in different ways. C'mon, you're more creative than that."_

"… Great, this is just like when I had to come up with my Hero name… um… let's see…"

 _"But I mean… if that's what you really want then go ahead and name him one of those…"_

"Hm… fine. I'll not name him Byaku though because I already have Byakuren. I'll choose between Shiro, Haku and… Sho?"

Shiran tilted his head. _"Sho? As in to fly? Dogs don't fly—"_

Mizuha groaned and leaned in front of the screen from her chair and narrowed her eyes at her brother. "I don't care about the meaning for that last one! I like the name Sho, OKAY?! Stop crapping on my choices!"

Her brother merely brought up his hands, surrendering with a surprised look.

The nameless animal then perked its head up, now awake from its short nap, staring at his new owner. It got up on its legs and padded near the edge of the bed before drawing back, scared of the height. The white dog whined and before lying prone on her bed. Mizuha stood up from her desk chair and went over to pick up the dog.

Shiran, from the other side of the screen, smiled at the endearing sight displayed in front of him. Seeing the way his sister was coddling the little dog in her arms filled him with warmth. It was small but it was there, she was smiling. It wasn't every day that he got see her like this. In the past, the little things that made her happy could be just about anything. He could pass by the store on the way home from school and buy her a chocolate bar and she'd be beaming a smile for him.

Now, it seemed harder to bring out a genuine smile out of her. She had gotten so used to not smiling that it seemed like she forgot to smile without forcing herself to. Their mother would say that she lost the sparkle in her eyes when she would pull out an old picture to compare.

It was probably going to take a while before she could easily smile again without it having look so twitchy.

For now, her smiles would only appear whenever she was feeling happy.

Shiran ruffled his hair with his hand as he chuckled to himself. He peeked behind the laptop that was hiding the plate of cookies on the kitchen table. He picked one off the plate. "But I suppose that this rare little gem isn't so bad. It makes it special." he mumbled to himself before taking a bite.

 _"What?"_

"Nothing."

* * *

Everyone was exhausted from their day being spent setting up their rooms but was ultimately satisfied by the end. It was still summer but the temperature in the dorm was pretty chilly, thus the reason as to why Mizuha was currently walking down the hallway with a blue sweater on her person. For no reason in particular, her hood was on her head.

She stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the button.

She looked down, lifting her hand just above her chest to scratch the dog's head. Still with no name, his little head and front legs were popping out of her sweater. The size of her chest wasn't too big, meaning it gave more than enough space for her dog to hang in front of her without suffocating. She was surprised that he wasn't causing a little fuss in her sweater.

She was on her way downstairs to go check on the package that was supposed to be delivered while everyone was busy settling in. Aside from the items the dog came with, Shiran went ahead and bought all the things that was necessary for raising a dog, he was planning on taking care of her dog supplies while she was staying at the dorm. She was extremely grateful for that.

Mizuha looked down at the dog and smiled softly. As if sensing the girl's stare, the dog craned up its neck and looked up, licking her nose.

"Cute." she laughed to herself.

The elevator's doors opened up, revealing her classmate Byakuren.

Upon seeing the dog hanging on her front, Byakuren gasped in surprise and started petting him as soon as Mizuha started walking inside the elevator.

"Mizu-chan, you never told me you got a dog!"

"Don't call me that in front of others, Byakkun." she reminded him while sighing.

"When did you get him?" he asked and pulled out the dog from her sweater so that he could take his turn in holding him.

"While unpacking. Shiran gave him to me as a surprise gift."

"Wow, he's already back to giving you presents and stuff!"

"Yeah but this is a major step-up from chocolate bars and stickers…"

Shiran pulled the front of her sweater and carefully placed her dog back where he first found it. Mizuha had to lean away her head away from the wagging tail that was brushing her nose.

"Still, it's a nice one. I know I've told you this before but a dog definitely suits you. And now that I'm actually seeing you with your own dog…" he moved away until he was backed up against the elevator wall and looked at her from head to toe while holding his hands out like picture frame. "It's a nice image."

Mizuha laughed and lightly pushed away his hands. "Stop that."

The elevator doors slid open and they both stepped out.

"Living together… This is also training to help us learn cooperation and discipline!" they heard Iida exclaim from further inside the common area.

Byakuren stepped out of the elevator first and greeted them with his typical close-eyed smile. "Hey, you guys!"

"Ah! Kyouran, you're finally done?" Kirishima asked, twisting his body to see his classmate.

"Yup! Aah, I'm so tired!" the white haired boy stretched his arms.

The redheaded boy noticed Mizuha walking behind him, especially the little dog hanging. He looked back at the others and pointed at Mizuha. "Look, there's her dog!"

"He's so small!"

"How old is the little guy?"

"What's his name?!"

Mizuha chuckled at the questions, finding it amusing how the guys were curious about her dog. "The answer to that question is the same; I don't know yet." she replied before walking over to Midoriya who was sitting on the couch. He looked at her questioningly before becoming stiff once she passed her dog onto him.

"E-Eh?! Hyoumei-san...! What—"

Kaminari, Sero, Sato, Kirishima, Koda and Ojiro huddled around the green haired boy who was trying to get an answer from the girl. Half of them were trying to pet it while the other half was trying to take a turn in holding him. Much like the dog, the poor boy was getting overwhelmed.

"Watch him for me for a sec, Midoriya. I just gotta find something." She said while walking off towards a random direction in the common area. She looked around, searching for the box that her brother spoke of.

Seeing her look around the common area, Iida approached her. "Hyoumei-kun, are you perhaps looking for boxes?"

Mizuha spun around to face her class rep, she nodded.

Iida pointed at the table that was the closest to the baths. "I went ahead and placed them over there."

The girl gave him a quick forced little smile. "Thanks, Iida." she jogged over to the table and saw that there were actually two boxes. She went ahead and pried the first box open with her fingers, wanting to see what was inside before she brought it back to her room. There was a bed inside along with some food and toys. The second box had a crate.

"Boys, are you all done with your rooms?" Ashido's voice suddenly appeared in the common area, the other girls were also there, aside for Tsuyu who was missing.

"Yup! Just relaxing now." Kaminari confirmed.

"Well, the girls were all talking just now…" Ashido grinned, looking at all the boys. "and we have an idea! Want to have a room presentation contest?"

Certain boys were dreading what was coming next.

"Oh my gosh! A puppy!" Ashido squealed.

"Who does this little guy belong to?" Hagakure asked.

Mizuha let out a small 'oof' as she piled up the boxes in her arms. "That would be me!" she said from behind the brown boxes. It was heavy, but she was sure she could manage on her own.

She quickly excused herself from joining in on the room contest and said she would join up with the class once she finished with her last two boxes. With the mountain in her hands, she decided to leave her puppy in Byakuren's care (who was more than happy to watch over the little guy, taking him off Midoriya's hands).

Todoroki stood up from his seat on the couch and went to her when he saw the load she was carrying.

"Let me help you with that."

Just as Todoroki was about to take the box hiding her face, she took a few steps away from him and shook her head, even though he couldn't see her shaking it.

"It's fine, I got this." assured Mizuha while she continued making her way to the elevator.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah!"

She didn't want to steal him away from a class bonding moment.

Todoroki didn't dwell on it for long and returned his attention to his other classmates who were talking about the room presentation contest.

Mizuha tilted her head just enough to see the elevator buttons. She backed up a little and removed the slipper off her right foot and pressed the button with it. The elevator dinged, opening its doors for her. The girl walked inside and stood in the middle, lowering her knees and stretching her index finger just enough to push the fourth floor button on the control panel. But when the doors were closing, a hand popped in between and stopped them.

"Oi, move back." A familiar voice said.

They started walking in.

"H-Huh?" Mizuha whipped her head back to see where she would be taking a few steps back towards.

She carelessly forgot to maintain the balance she was trying so hard to keep, and the box piled on top of the crate came crashing down on the other person. She heard them curse out loud while easily catching the box, preventing it from hitting their head. The elevator closed just as they caught it.

"Carry your shit properly!"

She frowned. "Not my fault! You came barging in right after me! Why did you come inside too?!"

Bakugo scoffed, using one hand to effortlessly push the box back in its place. "Like I'm going to waste my time looking at other people's rooms." he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm going to bed."

Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow, staring at him next to her from the corner of her eye. To her, a nocturnal student, it seemed like he was going to bed way early. Now that her mind was actually focused on the boy next to her, she started thinking about how his situation was since he was a target captured by the League of Villains. She wondered if he also was told not to go outside since they weren't arrested. It probably might not hurt _her_ to ask something but she couldn't say for certain if he was actually going to give her an answer to her question.

Trying her luck, she decided to give it a shot…

 _But first…_

"Hey, Bakugo." she called his attention. "Can you help me bring the second box in my room?"

He narrowed his eyes at her from the side. He certainly didn't hesitate in his answer. "You made it this far, do it yourself."

Mizuha let out a whine. "Please? I don't wanna break any of this if I drop it. It would be such a damn waste of money."

"I don't care."

The girl huffed and tilted her box, making the top one fall in his direction. Bakugo let out a string of curses and caught the box in his hands.

"Damn it, Mole Face!"

"Consider it your payment for letting you stay at my place when it was _raining._ " She chortled just before the doors slide open once more, signaling their arrival on the fourth floor.

Bakugo didn't think she'd be one to call in some owing favors out of people. Then again, what the hell did he know about her? He just knew that for some reason, she liked riling him up every now and then. He could obviously tell she enjoyed doing so every time he saw her grin after one of their little exchanges. She wasn't afraid of him like most girls in their class.

First time she ever did try to annoy him was during the obstacle race. Before that, aside from the time where they had the false alarm, she never tried to speak to him unless it was necessary— which was almost never. She was distant back then. Now, after the Sports Festival, she was slowly changing.

He begrudgingly followed after her, not wanting to be susceptible to any owing favors later on in the future. This was probably the only thing she was asking him to do in terms of owing.

She opened her door and motioned for him to set it down near the end of her bed.

Mizuha put her box on top of her desk and took a seat on her desk chair, watching the ash blond do as he was told. She pulled up one leg on the chair and rested her folded arms on her knee. Her hood had fallen off her head as she did so, revealing a slight messy back hair.

"Bakugo, I've a question about the time you got kidnapped by the League of Villains."

This made him stop, dropping the box and turning to give her a look. If this were back when school just started, she'd be trying to get off what she called his 'HATE' list. But the glare he was giving didn't make her think anything at all except for the question she had in mind.

He really just wanted to go back to his room already.

"Choose your words carefully." he warned. He didn't want to answer any question regarding how he felt nor about how All Might rescued him, he definitely didn't want to talk about that while his feelings about his retirement were still fresh in his mind.

"Do you remember anyone who had hair covering his face?"

The memory flashed in his mind and he crossed his arms. How could he forget? The creepy grinning fucker didn't give a rat's ass about him, usually spending his time playing games on his phone. He would flat out refuse to even watch him and instead took a nap in the other room. He seemed the least unenthusiastic member of the League of Villains when it came to the outcome of the attempt to recruit Bakugo in their ranks.

 _Dabi pulled him inside the warp gate by the neck, adding pressure to his grip whenever he tried to move away, a threat he shouldn't take lightly. They wasted no time in manhandling him and throwing him into a chair. He found himself wrists bound together and chained to the chair. He didn't peep a single word now that he was in front of the enemy, not wanting to give away any sensitive information by accident._

 _"Finally." a familiar raspy voice spoke from the side. Bakugo turned his head and saw the ringleader of League of Villains._

 _Tomura looked at his members while scratching his neck, then lowered it when he noticed a particular person was missing._

 _"Where is Light?"_

 _The tall raven haired villain took a seat on one of the bar stools. "Trying to do what he wants."_

 _Moments after he said that, another warp gate opened up right across from him. A shoe stepped into the hideout and the whole body followed after it, revealing the person in question. He twirled a knife in his hands before tossing it lazily towards the dart board, landing a triple ring._

 _"I'm here." he drawled. Then he held up his fist where his eye was supposedly was and faked a crying sound. "And without my little Hyoumei."_

 _A grin instantly spread across his face._

 _"I wish we could have brought her along with Izuku." Toga said with a happy look on her face._

 _Hyoumei? Bakugo thought. What the hell would they want with a girl like her? Compared to him, she seemed pretty fucking ordinary._

 _"We allowed you to participate to assist Dabi." Kurogiri reminded, setting down a drink for Dabi. "Not so you can collect."_

 _Light shrugged before striding to the bar and taking a seat next to Dabi. "When the prize is right in front of you, how can you stop yourself? Besides, I did my job didn't I?" he gave his colleague a wide grin._

 _"Get away from me." Dabi groaned in annoyance, moving away from Light._

 _"When we ran the plan by Sensei, he told us Bakugo was an important piece, and he told you that your priorities have to wait." Tomura said, sitting down on a stool._

 _As if ignoring the lecture his mother was giving him, Light only nodded his head lazily and drummed his fingers on the table for a few times before hopping off the stool, announcing that he was going to take a nap and they could just fill him in and what happens next._

"What about him?"

"Did he say anything about me?"

He scoffed. "Aside from mentioning your name several times and whining about how he wants you around, then no."

This made the girl frown deeply. Yeah, Light was obviously having his own agenda when it came to her. She just wished she knew exactly what he wanted with her.

She listened to Aizawa explain his thoughts on the matter and now she heard Bakugo's testimony. She still couldn't get a clear answer, but, now… she could somehow finally push it away from her mind. The answer was certainly not within her grasp now that she asked the last person she thought would have an idea. The only way she could truly find out why Light was interested in her is when he gets arrested. This would be left to the Pros and the police. With these answers, it somehow put her somewhat restless mind at ease.

 _I'm not going to figure it out on my own so why ponder over it?_

With a tired sigh, she nodded.

The ash blond haired student observed her from his spot. By the look on her face, it was easy to tell that she was relieved with his answer, confusing him. He didn't understand how she could be satisfied with such an answer, but he wasn't about to pry into her business. Then, he noticed that she was acting calmer and more collected when the topic was about villains. If he were to judge her based on previous events, then he would paint her as the type to freak out as soon as the bad guys came into the picture as well as being a worrywart over the white haired fox-faced boy.

However, if there was one thing that he learned based on those experiences, she was shaken up and most likely scared with this one. And she was hiding it all behind an impressive mask.

"Whatever. If that's all then I'm going to my room." Bakugo turned and made his way to her door and walked out without another word.

Mizuha hopped off her chair and jogged to her door, peeking her head out the doorway. "Bakugo—"

"Shut up and stop bothering me! I'm going to bed!"

Was all he said before walking towards the end of the girls' hallway and turning to enter the boys'.

She scoffed, closing her door with her foot and started taking out her dog items from the box he gracefully dropped a few moments ago. Sulking a little, she frowned and thought about how perhaps wanting to say 'thank you' for answering her question didn't have any merit anyway. He would have probably just brushed off her thanks and walked out in the end.

A small grin stretched on her lips.

 _He's really not that bad when he's not about to pop a blood vessel._

* * *

She stepped back and looked at the last thing she placed in her room: the crate. It was near the foot of her bed.

"I guess that's okay…" she muttered to herself.

Someone knocked on her door and peeked inside without her permission. It was Byakuren and he was holding her dog.

"We're all on to the 4th floor, are you coming?" he asked her and motioned his head outside.

"Okay, I'm done now anyway. But," she walked took a few steps and stopped in front of Byakuren. She gently took the puppy out of his hands and carefully set the little dog down on her floor. "I'll leave him alone in here for a while."

"… Are you sure? What if it dies on its own?" he joked.

Mizuha thought back to her pet fishes, horrified by the possibility.

She shook her head frantically.

"No, shut up! I'm also teaching it separation now that I think about it!"

Byakuren shrugged with an amused grin and moved away from her door. Mizuha walked out her door, but not without taking one final glance at the little dog. The white animal simply tilted its head and watched its owner slowly shut the door behind her. With the 'click' of the door, she walked after Byakuren who slowed down his pace for her to catch up. They rounded the corner, side by side, and heard chatter coming from one of the boys' rooms. Kirishima's door was open.

The two friends peeked into the room, eyes instantly roaming around, taking in the very aspect of the room.

"Hmm, this room can definitely be described as manly." said Byakuren.

"Room fits him." Mizuha added.

Hagakure turned around after hearing the two at the door. "Hey, Mizuha is here!"

Ashido held up a finger with a grin. "Great, now we can all go up to the fifth floor after seeing Shoji's room!"

The girls casually walked out of Kirishima's room, looking more interested in the next room. Ashido casually put her hands on Mizuha shoulders from behind, startling her from the sudden touch, but the pink girl only laughed at how jumpy she was.

"Come on, Mizuha~" Ashido sang, pushing her along as she rushed ahead with Hagakure.

"Wa-Wait!" Mizuha yelped while stumbling.

Byakuren laughed at the sight.

* * *

…

The visit to Shoji's room was rather quick since there wasn't much to see. Apparently, the tallest student didn't have much of an affinity for things. Thus, they moved up to the top floor where Todoroki, Sero, Byakuren and Satou were staying on.

Sero's room gave off the asian vibe, especially the hammock. It did look like a nice, she admitted to herself, she liked it better than Kirishima's since it looked a little more interesting to her. However, what immediately blew off Sero's ranking in her mental list of cool rooms was Todoroki's.

Todoroki led the group to his room. "Let's just get this over with… I'm tired." he said, pulling the door open and stepping out of the way to not block the view.

Some of them let out a choking sound while others simply stared with amazement.

Byakuren's jaw dropped and Mizuha's eye widened.

"What the—" Mizuha muttered.

"—Shit." Byakuren finished.

"A Japanese styled room?!"

"It's even built differently than ours!"

"My family home is traditionally japanese," Mizuha turned her head to the side to look at Todoroki who was talking, she looked dumbfounded now. "so I can't relax on flooring."

Kaminari whipped around with Mineta. The blond threw his hands in the air. "Who cares about why?!"

"How did you remodel it in a day?!" Mineta asked.

"I worked hard." said Todoroki, flatly.

Mizuha leaned her head back, narrowing her eyes at the dual colored haired boy. "What? No, no you probably filed in a request or something…"

"No, I did it all today." he replied.

Byakuren squinted his eyes and waved his arm in front of him, searching for something. "Maybe this is just a picture we're seeing…"

After Todoroki's room was Byakuren's. Now, this was a room Mizuha was very interested in. In all their years together, she had never once seen her friend's room. In fact, she could barely recall the number of times she actually stepped foot in his house. Oh right, because she actually never did. She knew where he lived, stood outside his apartment, but never went in.

When he opened the door, the first thing she saw were a couple of snapback hats hanging on the wall next to a painting near his bed. Her eyes flickered to his bed. His comforter was dark purple with black lines as its design. He had a white headboard with one shelf. On top of the shelf was a digital clock, a tissue box, a water bottle and a small night lamp. Against the same wall his bed was pushed up against, there was mirror and a four chest drawer that had hygiene necessities sitting on top. Like Uraraka, he had a small table for his TV and he had his own console hooked up to it. In the between the small table and his desk, there was a book shelf that housed many books, most likely books about tactics. There was a basketball tucked away inside the bottom shelf along with some binders. He had a light purple curtain hiding away his veranda with black shippou patterns that faded near the middle of the fabric. He had a gray desk chair in front of his brown desk. A laptop, a speaker and a pair of earphones and a pencil holder were sitting on wooden surface. He also had a pinboard in front of his desk, a couple of notes already stuck to it.

Basically, it looked a lot more normal than she imagined. But yet, knowing how her friend was cunning… he probably had some little gadgets and tools hidden somewhere in the closet or his drawers.

"Soo many strategy books!" Hagakure exclaimed while tilting one book out of the shelf, trying to pull it out until Byakuren warned her not to misplace it.

Ashido was wearing one of his hats.

Kaminari picked up his basketball and spun it on his finger.

Mizuha, curiously, pulled open the second top drawer and peered inside. She found a tablet, a few spare emergency headphones and a cylinder speaker.

…

…

…

"The last boy is…"

Satou scratched his cheek with his finger and started leading the way. "Me."

They all followed after him and looked inside his room once he opened it. Immediately after the door opened, Mizuha could smell something sweet drifting out of the room. Instantly, she was brought back to the times where her mother would bake muffins, she could smell it from the living room while playing games. She would actually pause just to get up and see how the muffins were doing, hoping to eat one soon.

Ojiro sniffed. "Something sure smells good, though, what is it?" he asked, curious.

The bigger student jumped and rushed to the oven in his room. "Oh no, I forgot! I finished unpacking really early, so I baked a chiffon cake. I thought we could eat it together. It'd be even more delicious with whipped cream, but you guys want some?"

Mizuha looked up at the word 'cake'. She bit her lip in anticipation as Sato came around passing a piece to everyone who wanted to eat. She grabbed two; one for her and one for Byakuren. Without looking, she held it up to him while taking a bite out of hers. Byakuren lowered himself and opened his mouth, taking a bite from the chiffon cake from her hand from taking it.

This obviously scored high for the girls since they were all enjoying the treat. Yaoyorozu even said she would gladly like to combine her tea with his confections.

Sero chomped on his food with a frown. "Darn… I guess we should've expected something tasty from someone called Sugarman."

"What timing, though…" Kirishima said while chewing before looking at the food in his hands. "This is good."

"That's it for the boys." Hagakure announced.

 _I didn't get to see all of the boys' rooms but at least I was able to tag along in the end._

Mizuha rolled her shoulders back. It was over and now that meant that it was finally time to retire for the day—

"Next, it's our turn!" the invisible girl added.

Without missing a beat, her head whipped back to look at her classmates. "Wait what… I thought it was over?"

Jiro rubbed the back of her neck, leaning towards her. "While you were gone, we decided to also show the girls' rooms..."

"… Oh, okay. I guess that's not too bad…" Mizuha sweat dropped. "I think."

"If you ask me, it's a kind of embarrassing." Jiro mumbled, looking a little nervous since they were all going back to the 2nd floor to see the first girl's room. Her room.

* * *

Jiro's room was filled with instruments. Her room looked more like the rock music type.

"It's filled with even more instruments than I expected!" Kaminari exclaimed.

"It's because Jiro's a rockin' girl!" Hagakure said while looking at the two electric guitars with Uraraka.

The brunette looked over her shoulder and pointed at the two instruments, amazed. "Can you play all these?!"

Jiro played with her plug-like earphone jacks that were attached to her ears, prodding them together, looking a little shy. "Well, at least the basics…"

Mizuha looked up at the ceiling that was decorated in a black and red checkered pattern. Then she looked at the floor and was met with the same pattern but with white. For her, it was such a simple pattern but it still looked cool if you used it correctly. She didn't have the nerve to try and paint her white walls back at home in a different color since she really didn't like changing things too much. The fact that Jiro had a lot of music instruments seemed to make to room way more appealing to her as well.

Mizuha placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder, making her look at her.

"This is already my favorite room." she said honestly.

Seeing the quiet look of amazement on her face made Jiro look somewhat a little relieved, forgetting embarrassment she was feeling mere seconds ago. The rock-loving girl laughed lightly. "Come on, that's got be an exaggeration."

Mizuha shook her head. "I really like it." she said, a shy smile appearing on her face.

"Thanks—"

"It's not girly at all."

"Unladylike!"

Jiro turned her head and glared at Kaminari and Aoyama, immediately plugging one of their ears with her earphone jacks, flooding sound in their ears and making them wail.

After those unnecessary comments by the two blonds, they all moved on to the next room that belonged to the 3rd floor; Hagakure. It looked like a typical cutesy girl room, with all the pink and stuffed animals. Her carpet was pink, her curtain was pink, her laptop was pink… Mizuha nearly squinted from the amount of pink.

The following room was Ashido's, and then Uraraka's… and then finally it was her turn.

Mizuha lightly blew out her cheeks as she pulled her door open and entering her room, granting everyone access to lay their eyes on it. Her puppy barked at her return and moved next to her feet.

"So… this is my room." she said, lowering herself to pat the dog on its head and watching most of her classmates file inside. Certain boys chose to look from the doorway since they felt a little awkward in seeing a girl's room.

Her bed comforter was blue in a checkered pattern with the colors white, marine blue and cerulean. She had several anime posters on her walls including at least one idol group poster taped on the wall near her bed. On the same wall, near the foot of her bed, was a long white framed mirror titled back against it. Her bed had a white headboard with four shelves, two square ones on the left and right side and two rectangular ones in the middle. She had three picture frames on top of the headboard, all had a picture of herself as a child but only one had her with her parents and her brother. On the left side of the headboard was an outlet extender, its wire disappearing somewhere behind it and connecting to her desk. The curtain by the headboard was colored in sand brown with white Asanoha patterns on the lower part.

Like the others, she had a desk facing the wall on the left. Hers was white and long, acting as working desk with built in drawers on the left and right side for her clothes and stuff. A black lamp stood at the end of the desk near the veranda door along with a black pencil holder and a handmade one she made from a tissue box. A black laptop bag was set aside in the same corner and the laptop itself was sitting in the center of the desk, lid shut. There was a pin board in front that had little character charms from video games or from anime hanging from a thumbtack. Near the left side, there was a black compact CD player,a small black wireless speaker and a box that contained touch pens for drawing digitally.

She had a small flat screen TV standing on top of a bookshelf that had three shelves. First shelf was reserved for manga and light novels, the second had DVDs, several other books, video games and a few USB keys inside boxes with chargers, and the bottom shelf had other things such as plastic folders that were a sneeze away from imploding, art work and controllers for her console that was hooked up to the TV set right next to it. Next to the bookshelf was a wide four drawer chest that had a blue miniature eight drawer chest sitting atop along with some papers and personal necessities. If her mother saw the mess of papers on top of her drawer, she would surely scold her for it. The fridge that came with the room was in front of her bed which was next to two plastic three drawer chest, towering. You could see some snacks in the top drawers thanks to the see-through plastic. The dog crate sat right next to the tower of drawers.

"… Yeah, I kinda expected this." Kaminari grinned while looking around. "It's not girly."

Unlike Jiro, she only shrugged in response as she didn't really care since it was the truth that she honestly loved.

Byakuren pulled open her right bottom desk drawer, revealing a pack of wires, two wireless headphones and four different phones. He laughed as he picked them up and looked at them.

"I found them!"

Mizuha narrowed her eyes. "Oi, what are you doing? Put those back."

Byakuren only chuckled, rummaging through her wires.

Uraraka looked confused. "You have four phones?"

The platinum blonde haired girl sat on her bed and pulled out a phone from her pocket. "Five if you count this one. I found three on the ground, another one was free and this one," she held it up. "I got it cheap."

"Did you try to give back the ones that were lost?" Midoriya asked.

Mizuha eyes moved up, looking at the ceiling as she thought about her answer.

"No, because at that time I didn't feel like it… Finders-keepers, I guess."

The class sweat dropped.

The dog barked.

"Mineta-kun, stop looking into girls' drawers!" Hagakure exclaimed.

Hoping to find the forbidden garments, Mineta pulled open the bottom drawer of the one next to her bookshelf, eyes gleaming in anticipation. Unfortunately, he was met with the sight of another laptop, another game console that was needed to be connected to a monitor and two handheld game devices.

Mizuha stared at the boy, disgusted. She reached for the chew toy she left near the crate, obviously planning to throw it at the little pervert. Sensing her menacing aura, Todoroki quickly grabbed her wrist and tossed the toy away from her reach. Meanwhile, Kirishima picked up the smaller boy from the back of his shirt and, with the help of Sero, restrained him like a mummy, wanting Mizuha to avoid being a victim of Mineta's perverted tendencies and also to prevent her from… probably destroying him.

"I'm getting the gamer vibe from Mizuha!" Uraraka exclaimed while using her thumbs to imitate holding a controller.

Kaminari pointed at the extra console in her drawer. "You should hook that up downstairs so we could all play since you got some extra controllers!" he said excitedly. "I have some games too!" he added.

"Oh yeah, that would be fun!" Sero agreed.

"Ooh! We could sleep in the common room together and have a fun night with games, snacks and movies!" Ashido suggested, already invested in dorm plans.

"Good idea!" Kaminari nodded.

"That sounds fun!" Hagakure and Uraraka said in unison.

"Ehh…"

"I didn't think you'd have so many devices." Jiro commented.

The wireless headphones and the laptop were probably a hint, thought Todoroki as he remembered their trip to I-Island.

"Are you perhaps talented in drawing, Hyoumei?" Yaoyorozu asked her, pointing at the sketch book poking out from underneath the papers on top of her drawer.

"Oh, uh, yeah. I guess I'm pretty good at art."

The taller girl smiled at her. "I would like to see some of your art work some time."

Ashido raised her hand. "Me too!" she said eagerly.

Feeling bashful, Mizuha could only nod with a silly look on her face. "S-Sure." she said, holding her arm.

Suddenly, Byakuren pulled her up to her feet and guided her out of her own room, announcing that it was time to move on to the next girl. Everyone listened to the white haired boy and they started leaving Mizuha's room.

"Anyway, you got some new info on Mizu-chan. She's a hybrid of anime, art and video games. Oh, and she could probably hack your whole IP address since she's good at using computers!"

Mizuha swung her hand in his direction at her nickname.

He evaded by stepping back, hands up in surrender.

"Don't call me that in front of others, Byakkun!"

* * *

Yaoyorozu's room was the last room on their list since Tsuyu was not participating, Uraraka had said she wasn't feeling too well and suggested they leave her be to rest up for tomorrow. Everyone, aside from Bakugo and Tsuyu, were present in the common area and writing down their votes on who had the best room. Ashido made the rule clear that no one should be voting for themselves and should be a hundred percent honest. Mizuha's vote was fairly easy, she wasn't able to see everyone's rooms but she knew which one was her favorite, she already openly admitted it too.

Ashido passed around to collect the ballots, and with the help of Uraraka and Yaoyorozu, she counted the votes.

Mizuha stood behind Todoroki and next to Byakuren as she watched Ashido build up the suspense. Out of curiosity, she looked at several boys in the class and found herself muffling a laugh. Kaminari, Aoyama, Sero and Mineta looked deadly serious about it.

"With a total of five votes! The overwhelming winner standing alone at the top is… Sato Rikido!"

Said boy looked baffled and pointed at himself. "Me?!"

"By the way, they were mostly girls! The reason was…" all the girls thought back to the chiffon cake they eat, drooling a little. "Because the cake was delicious!"

"What about my room?!"

"Well, that's it. Competition is over." Byakuren did a close-eyed smile, enjoying the open frustration of Kaminari and Mineta.

As if on cue, Mizuha covered her mouth with her sleeve and yawned, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Todoroki looked at Iida and Midoriya. "Can I go to sleep now?"

Hearing both Todoroki and Mizuha's tired signs. Iida nodded and vigorously moved his hand to mimic the gesture of brushing one's teeth. "Yes! And since you both had cake, don't forget to brush your teeth!"

"I'm going to bed too. All that unpacking got me tired." Byakuren waved his hand as he followed his two friends to the elevator.

"Ah! Todoroki-kun, wait a sec!"

The three leaving students turned their attention to Uraraka. She then started naming the students who were involved in rescuing Bakugo. The platinum blonde haired girl and the white haired boy looked at each other, then shrugged, that was obviously none of their concern. Byakuren announce their retirement over their shoulder once they approached the elevator. The others bid them goodnight just before they entered.

Byakuren leaned back against the wall and sighed.

She rose an eyebrow. "You're really tired?" she asked, standing by his side and trusting her back to the wall.

They both watched the digital number atop the doors.

The taller boy only chuckled. "Yes, that, and having a hunch that things will probably be more difficult."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well… we were supposed to spend our time training in a secure location during the summer break, and seeing how that didn't turn out the way we wanted… we're probably going to have to cram in training with the remaining weeks we have since we were supposed to be training to obtain a provisional license. Aah… I hope things aren't as hectic as I imagine it to be…"

Mizuha let out a heavy sigh of her own, imagining the following two weeks were already getting her tired. She reached her hand up and patted his head twice. "We just need to hang in there."

The doors opened on the fourth floor. Mizuha pushed herself off the wall and put her hands in her sweater pockets, walking out while dragging her feet. The moment she made it out of the elevator, she turned and faced Byakuren. He was smiling at her and waving his hand.

"Goodnight, Mizu-chan~"

She held in her mirth and returned his wave with her own. "'Night, Byakkun."

* * *

 **It seems unlikely for now that I'll be able to update weekly like I wanted. I'll try to post within two weeks... I mean I guess it's fine** **(for anime only readers)** **since Season 4 is coming back in October 12. Anyway, what do you think the dog's name should be? I personally like Sho and, no, not because of (S** **ho)to (・ヮ・).**

 **Frenchie Is French: You know, I've actually thought about that while thinking of the possible ship! ... You can definitely expect some Tamaki and Mizuha interactions later in the story! I like to think they'd make a good anxious pair.**


	18. Chapter 18: Busy With Preparations

Mizuha's eyes fluttered open, exposing her orbs to her white desk on the left. She blinked. Something wasn't right. Her desk wasn't supposed to be on that side of her room, especially not so close either. Did her mother move around her furniture without her knowing, and quietly at that? Bewildered, she sat up in her bed and took in her surroundings.

Then she dropped her head.

Oh right. She forgot how she literally just moved in yesterday.

Her body collapsed against the bed, drowsy. She shut her eyes and reached her hand behind her, feeling for her phone on the headboard where it was charging. She used her other hand to free it from the wire and brought it to her face. Instantly, she was blasted in the face with bright light. It didn't help that her lockscreen's picture wasn't a dark picture. With squinted eyes, she hastily lowered the brightness and while doing so she caught a glimpse of the digital clock on her front screen.

It wasn't as early as when she woke up for school but it was early for someone who was supposed to be enjoying their summer vacation.

 _I don't even think I'm on summer vacation anymore,_ thought Mizuha while already feeling exhausted about the plan for the day. Her day hadn't even started and she wanted to just hibernate for two weeks. Unfortunately, life wasn't too kind right now with her responsibilities as a tutor and the plan to obtain her provisional license.

With a soft groan of despair, she hugged her soft boomerang pillow and buried her face in its softness, desperately trying to wish away all her troubles.

If only it was that easy.

 _Might as well get up and just… stay awake._

Mizuha removed her arms from her pillow and reached behind her for the covers, tossing them to the side, exposing her to the cool air. She groaned again. Her body rolled onto her opposite side and her legs swung off the bed, sending her body upright into a sitting position. Her arms were on her sides, fingers gripping the mattress as she let out a lion-like yawn, nearly cracking her jaw in the process. She shook her head and steadily got up from her bed.

She opened her curtains, flinching from the brightness. Oh, what a terrible idea. She nearly went blind for the second time. The curtains stayed open but she turned away and rubbed her eye with her finger.

For night clothes, she was dressed in loose long brown shorts that she had to tie a bit tightly around her waist. She wore a long marine blue t-shit hidden beneath a cerulean hoodie zipped to the top. She was still sleeping with such attire despite it being summer.

She lowered herself and pulled open one of the drawers on the left side of her desk, taking out a fresh set of clothes, one she would label as her current house-clothes before throwing them into the laundry after a certain period of time.

With the sound of drawers shutting and opening and closing of her closet, she heard the crate make some noise, indicating that her dog was now awake too.

Feeling slightly apologetic for waking him, she got on her knees and opened it all while muttering a small apology.

Her brother had a friend that also raised a dog. Shiran asked some dog training advice from him and relayed it to Mizuha. It was understandably a lot of work to take care of a puppy and therefore she asked her uncle to help her out whenever she was going to be absent for a long period of time. She learned that her dog was only two and a half months old, which made her break into sweat when she thought about the amount of work prior to learning about Eijin's help. Hell, he even agreed to take care of her dog at his place when things got a little hectic. She never loved her uncle as much as she did at that moment when he told her that.

It started letting out little whines while laying on its side on the bed.

She panicked and immediately started scratching its little head in hopes that it didn't make anymore sound so early in the morning, which was an unreasonable request considering dogs aren't mute. She didn't want to wake up Uraraka next door.

"I still don't know what to name you…"

 _Shiro, Haku or Sho…_

Mizuha got up on her feet and went over to the drawer that had scattered paper on it and went over to her pencil holder to snatch a green marker. She sat back down on the floor and opened the marker, biting the cover.

She started writing down the names along with their kanji.

 _Shiro, Haku -_ 白

 _Sho -_ 翔

She took the cover out of her mouth and laughed a little. For a moment, she considered putting both characters together and pronounce the name in her head. Shirosho or Hakusho, the mental picture just seemed amusing. A flying white dog.

She was very tempted to be cliché but at the same time she was tempted to call him Sho, just for the sake of calling him Sho-chan.

"I guess for now…" she moved to reach her hand inside the big crate, grabbing a handful of her dog and pulling him out. "I'll let you play outside."

* * *

Down in the common area, Mizuha ate her breakfast while facing the windows of the courtyard. One of the doors leading outside to the courtyard was open. Outside, a little white dog was playing around chasing a little butterfly. She chortled when she saw him stumble over its front legs, leading him to stumble and roll forward before getting back up and trying to find the butterfly.

Her ears picked up on the sound of the elevator arriving on the first floor, but she did not look away from her pet. She simply continued sipping her orange juice from her glass.

"Good morning, Mizuha-chan."

Now that was a voice she wasn't expecting.

Mizuha lowered her glass from her lips and looked at the person who said her name with a slight surprised expression. Approaching her was the girl that was absent during the Room Competition.

"Oh, Tsuyu… good morning." she greeted. "Are you feeling okay? I heard you weren't feeling well."

The shorter green haired girl smiled softly and nodded. "I'm fine, thank you for asking."

Just then, her nameless dog barked and ran inside the dorm building, stopping at Tsuyu's feet and stared up at her with his tail wagging and tongue hanging out. Surprised, Tsuyu halted, lowered herself and began petting the dog. Her nameless dog was enjoying the affection he was receiving. The frog girl was smiling affectionately as she petted him, making Mizuha subtly tilt her head to the side, wondering if her dog had a special comforting aura… or maybe dogs, especially puppies, just have that natural effect.

Mizuha decided, for once, to break the silence. "He's cute, right?"

Tsuyu looked up, nodding her head, giving one more set of scratches on his head before standing upright. "Very." she agreed. "What's his name?" she asked while going off towards the kitchen to get herself some breakfast.

Mizuha only sighed heavily and decided to lay her head next to her tray, still facing the windows where her dog resumed playing on the other side. "He's still nameless for now… I'm having a hard time choosing between two names…" she lifted up her hand and held up two fingers in front of her eyes. "I had Shiro, Haku and Sho, but now I decided to choose in between Haku and Sho."

"Haku because he's white?"

"Pretty much."

The other girl pulled out a chair in front of her and set her tray down in front of her.

Asui Tsuyu was a very responsible girl, therefore she didn't really approve of starting gossip about Mizuha when she refused to interact with others in the class, but seeing how the gossip was innocent, she was not against it for very long. She was also very observant, being able to notice to purposely yet subtle hints of Mizuha's refusal to interact with others. Whenever the opportunity to socialize came up, she would disappear before anyone knew where she was or she would remain quiet and stick to Byakuren like glue who acted like her spokesperson with a bit of censorship, which was one of the reasons as to why she was dubbed the Mysteriously Distant Girl. The girl didn't go into detail back during the Sports Festival, however what was important to remember was that she was facing personal obstacles for a long time and had only managed to overcome them the day of her match against Byakuren. But if Tsuyu were to guess when things began to shift for her, she would have to say it was after her match with Mokuen.

She could still remember the dark look on Mizuha's face when she dropped Mokuen on the floor. In addition, she remembered overhearing Byakuren saying something about how she, too, allowed her personal feelings to get involved in a match after saying the same about Mokuen. There was something going on that nobody, except for certain people, were aware about.

Tsuyu was able to piece that much after seeing and overhearing. And now, she was seeing change in Mizuha, who was trying to make an effort in opening up, showing up for the shopping trip without Byakuren and interacting more with others were already hints of it.

The green haired girl tipped her finger against her mouth, looking upwards. "The choice is ultimately up to you, but, if I were to name him then I would choose Sho." she looked at Mizuha, looking out for her reaction to her opinion. "Because I think it sounds nice."

Mizuha sat up in her chair and looked at the ceiling, staring blankly as she thought about it.

Then, she pictured Byakuren in her mind, he was doing his typical foxy smile that hid certain cunning intentions. The memory of all the times she playful ran her fingers in his hair when they were back in elementary came rushing back to her. This was enough to push Mizuha into choosing the name she wanted for her dog.

"I'll name him Sho." she declared, her face looking rather surprised from her own choice.

Tsuyu lowered her hand and picked up her eating utensils after holding her hands up together for thanks. "I hope you didn't just choose that name because I said that I liked it." she said. "You should pick a name of your choosing."

"No, no." Mizuha said, shaking her head. "I named him Sho because I already have Byakuren." she started and gesticulated her right hand as she spoke. "I already have a friend with white hair and with a name that means white. So, I figured I could give him name that didn't signify white." she explained.

Mizuha clapped her hands together once, satisfied with her decision.

Tsuyu looked up from her food and smiled at her, amused by her explanation. Her eyes landed on her food tray, then she curiously looked at the clock hung up somewhere behind Mizuha. They had to be at school in two hours, which meant that others should be probably coming down to eat breakfast soon as well.

Sho barked next to Tsuyu.

Surprised, the girl looked down on her right. Sho was sitting on the floor, looking up at her with his tongue hanging out.

When he saw her look down at him, he got up on his four legs and let out a whine.

"Um, Mizuha-chan, did you feed Sho yet?"

The taller girl shook her head. "Not yet, why?"

"I think he's getting hungry."

As proof, Tsuyu lifted up her tray and held it above Sho. The little dog started jumping in an attempt to reach it.

Mizuha let out a silent curse and went off to find the dog food that was delivered last night.

 _I'm starting off well as a dog owner…_

* * *

Mizuha stretched her arms back while she followed her class into Gym Gamma or also known as the 'Training Dining Land' or just TDL, an odd name. She stood next to Byakuren with her hands in her jacket as she listened to Midnight, Eraserhead, Cementoss and Ectoplasm.

Cementoss turned around and kneeled on the floor and placed his hands on the floor of concrete. "I came up with the idea for these facilities. Terrain and others things can be prepared specifically for each student." he demonstrated by rising the concrete. "That's what the 'dining' part refers to."

Iida shot his hand up. "Please allow me to ask a question!" he asked, with much energy. "Why must we have ultimate moves for our Provisional Licensing Exam? Please tell me your reasoning!"

"I'll tell you everything in order." assured Aizawa, looking as tired as ever. "The job of a hero is to save people from danger, like crimes, accidents, natural disasters, and man-made disasters. The exam to become one naturally looks at how well you are able to do that. Your ability to gather information, make decisions, move, and fight, in addition to your ability to communicate, draw people to you, and your leadership. Every year, a different test is used to look at how well you are able to do those things."

"Of those, your ability to fight is especially important to your future as heroes." Midnight added. "If you are prepared, you won't have to worry. Whether or not you have an ultimate move will greatly affect whether or not you pass."

"Not being influenced by circumstances and being able to act consistently will make you a great asset on the front lines." Cementoss pointed out to them.

"Your ultimate moves do not necessarily need to be of the attacking type." Ectoplasm said.

Mizuha almost sighed in relief.

 _Good because I'm not mentally prepared to shout out those type of things… If it's not an attack type then I could either whisper it or say it in my head…_

Ectoplasm looked at Iida. "For example, Iida's Reciproburst. The temporary burst of speed is enough of a threat to be worth calling an ultimate move."

Byakuren leaned closer to Mizuha. "So, it would be something that could help us achieve victory?"

The girl looked at her friend and shrugged. "I guess, I mean that's how Iida grabbed Midoriya's headband during the second part of the Sports Festival. That definitely scored them a good spot in the ranking at the end of that game."

"Kamui Woods, who played a big part in the fight the other day, has a move called Lacquered Chain Prison that is the perfect example of an ultimate move. It restrains his opponents before they can do anything." Midnight said, making the idea clearer for the students.

"The training camp was cancelled," spoke up Aizawa. "but the training you did to develop your Quirks was part of the process to create your ultimate moves. In other words," suddenly Cementoss began leveling the floor to create a new training ground. "until the beginning of the next semester, for the ten days or so until the end of summer vacation, you'll be working out your ultimate moves as you develop your Quirks."

Mizuha stared at the sight before her, face stripped of any form of excitement because all she had was a face of irritation.

"You'll be doing intensive training!"

 _Damn it, Uncle Eijin… THIS IS TOO MUCH TO CALL 'A BIT BUSIER'. FUCKING HELL, I'M GOING TO BE DYING. AM I GOING TO BE RUNNING TO MAKE IT FOR MY TUTORING SESSION WITH TOGATA?!_

Would she even be able to rest?!

"In addition, you should think about how you can improve your costumes to work better with your developing Quirks. Get through this with a 'Plus Ultra' mentality. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

 _… Not really._

…

…

…

Mizuha stood a couple of feet away from Ectoplasm, hands in her jacket's pockets and staring off, looking like she was spiritually absent.

After getting briefed on their task, a clone for each student approached them and guided each of them to their training spots.

He told her to think about the possible moves she'd like to work on for the remaining time she had, and so far, she was simply staring off into space as if she forgot what she was doing.

Finding her lack of response strange, Ectoplasm decided to take a few steps towards her. "Hyoumei."

Hearing this, Mizuha lightly jumped on her spot and looked at him with a surprised expression. "Yeah?"

"Have you thought of anything?"

The girl frowned and tilted her head, lightly scratching her finger against her temple. "… Kind of. I was thinking of merging two moves I created during the Sports Festival."

"Which moves are you referring to? From what I recall, you had actually a few impressive moves in all of your three matches."

With Mokuen, there were three moves she remembered were actually good enough to use as her trump card. There was the ice trail from when the match started, the spiral of ice she emitted to force Mokuen away from her and the giant ice wall to throw Mokuen out of bounds. With Byakuren, there was the high-pressure water spheres and the huge tsunami. And with Bakugo, there was probably that one water-explosion imitation and that huge ice hammer she made to send him flying.

She was thinking of merging the ice trail and the tsunami together. The attack would be a solid form. It would be a type of ice tsunami. This attack would be able to freeze whatever it touches.

She explained it to Ectoplasm.

She put her hand behind her neck and looked at her teacher, hoping he would find it okay. Even if she thought it was a good idea, he might think it might not be enough for the Provisional Licensing Exam, he would be the final judge of the idea.

"Alright then, show me."

With a deep breath, she held out her hands in front of her. Then she released a quick breath. Water and ice rose up from both of her sides and spun around each other, growing thick and giving shape as they merged and became a flow of ice shaped like a Chinese dragon. The ice dragon remained suspended in the air as Mizuha looked up at it, impressed with herself, especially with how it looked.

Midoriya once told her that her Quirk was kind of artistic thus giving her the idea to shape her attack like a dragon.

"I suppose it would be a little similar to Todoroki's move except that yours has mobility." Ectoplasm remarked.

"You mean that giant ice wall he did during the Sports Festival?"

"Exactly."

Mizuha then turned around and looked at where Todoroki was training with his own Ectoplasm clone. Now that she thought about it, her teacher was right. Todoroki's ice wall would ultimately freeze his opponents in mere seconds if they got caught. However, the only difference would be that hers would not be used to block away her opponents. Hers would pursue her enemies without stopping unless ordered by the emitter.

She didn't have a defense with that technique.

"It would also be best to have _yourself_ take part in your ultimate move."

"Myself?" she repeated.

"You're an all-rounder type. You can fight from afar, mid-range and close range. If the situation permits it, you should help yourself by not staying still and simply letting your Quirk do the work for you. Don't give your opponent the chance to escape or get the upper hand."

Mizuha held up her fist underneath her chin and supported her arm with her other, tilting her head as she thought about his words. If she understood correctly, then he was telling her that she could also charge in to attack.

"That means I'd be giving my opponent another thing to look out for. Oh, and that would make things difficult for them!" Mizuha lowered her arms and nodded. "Yeah, I could that!"

Her teacher walked a couple of feet away from her, distancing himself. "Good, then, we'll work on that while working on your ultimate move. But first, your ultimate move, we'll see what needs improvement."

Knowing that she would now be devoting her time to working on her ultimate move, she was suddenly brought back to the conversation she had with her uncle before meeting Togata on the first day of their tutoring session. He told her she would have to cut time with whatever Aizawa had in store for her. And today, if everyone concerned was following the schedule properly, she had a tutoring session with Togata in the library again. She just wanted to drop down on the ground on her knees and hands with her head dropped down in despair.

Her uncle better help her or else she was going to stress.

Mizuha jogged over to Ectoplasm and held up a hand near her face. "By the way, did my uncle tell you about how I was supposed to finish up early today?"

He gave her a nod. "Yes, he told us. We were told to let you off for your tutoring session with Togata. That said, you should work as much as you can on your ultimate move now before it's time for you to leave."

She did not need her teacher to say anything else. Her body spun around and she ran back to her spot.

"Now, let's begin."

* * *

Aizawa checked the time on his phone. He lowered his hand holding it and searched for Mizuha. He found her on one of the taller structures in the gym and was just in time to witness her ice dragon shatter into a million pieces with her setting her hands her knees and panting with her eyes shut. He was able to see her breathing out white breath from the cold but she didn't look like she was shivering as much as she used to when she used her solid form. A good sign that showed, even if it was cut short, she was able to make some progress with her Quirk during the training camp.

When he was informed about Mizuha's situation, he had a hard time approving, obviously wanting her to focus more on the upcoming exam. It was only after Eijin proposed that he take on the responsibility to help Mizuha catch up on the time she would lose. Class 1-A's homeroom teacher didn't doubt Eijin's words since he knew the teacher could produce results if everything went according to how he planned. Shiran was living proof of it.

The older Hyoumei was not as gifted as Mizuha when it came to control over his Quirk. He sought out his uncle, who had already begun teaching at U.A, to help him with his problem. Eventually, the oldest child of the Hyoumei family got better at using his Quirk and was able to attract the attention of Pro Heroes during his second year. Despite not inheriting the same type of Quirk as them from his parents, Eijin knew how help those who possessed water-based Quirks since it ran in his family.

Aizawa was certain that Kishokei would do everything possible to make sure his niece was up to speed while balancing her tutoring schedule, after all, he had her help in the first place.

To be honest, the dry-eyed hero believed that Togata should have dealt with this matter on his own like any normal student who was failing a class, but for the same reason for not expelling his students, he couldn't allow that now that things were changing with All Might's retirement.

The teacher cleared his throat and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hyoumei!"

Said girl's head perked up, then she stood up straight and started looking around. She resembled a rabbit standing up on its two legs, who was examining its surroundings. She knew who was calling her but she just needed to find him. When her eyes landed on him below, she approached the edge of the structure she was standing on and peered down.

"Yeah?" she replied to his call.

He lowered his hands, held up his wrist and tapped a finger on it. "Time for you to go."

That was enough to tell her what he meant. She nodded and moved away from the edge, excusing herself for the day and from training with Ectoplasm. The girl started jogging down the path that would bring her back to the ground level. He watched as she briefly waved to her classmates who noticed her passing by. When she finally made it down, she continued jogging on her way out.

Aizawa turned to her just as she passed by him. "Get some rest right after you finish with Togata. You'll need it." he advised.

This made her stop and stare at him in confusion. "Huh?"

He only gestured her to keep going. "Run along. You only have twenty minutes left to cool down before your tutoring session."

This only made Mizuha squint her eyes and tilt her head, even more confused. However, her mind didn't dwell too long on his words, she shrugged and continued making her way out. She needed to rest a little, change out of her hero costume and get dressed in more comfortable clothes, probably grab a snack and finally head to the library. That last part was good to go since she already prepared her bag with all the necessary material before she leaving her room earlier.

She scratched the back of her head while walking out as she mentally tried estimating how much time everything would take.

"Oh, Young Hyoumei!"

Mizuha's boots suddenly felt glued to the ground, her body lurched forward for a moment before she stood up straight. Hearing the familiar voice, she looked over her shoulder and her body followed its movement to see the former Symbol of Peace walking towards her from behind. All Might's left hand was held up in a greeting and his other was being supported by an arm sling. Seeing his arm and real form in person was enough to make her tutoring related thoughts halt as she took in his appearance.

 _Yeah, he was going to have a limit somewhere. I wonder if he's been hiding his state from the press for a long time…_

"Hi." she greeted him back with a quick nod of her head. "... Shouldn't you be resting up for the next semester?"

He only smiled at her and held up a thumbs up. "I'm okay, besides, you're all working on your ultimate moves, correct? I certainly don't want to miss that. While we're talking about ultimate moves, how is yours going?"

Mizuha's eyes shifted upwards as she pressed her lips together, thinking back to the training she just had. She explained to him that Ectoplasm wanted her to improve on her speed and perhaps increase the size of her ice dragon. The size, she was capable of increasing, however, the speed proved to be a little difficult to improve. It always seemed too slow to catch Ectoplasm since he was always able to avoid her attack. So far, the only thing she's been able to freeze is the spot where he was standing (before he jumped away). She always missed.

All Might thought it over as she explained to him. "He wants you to increase its speed so that you can freeze your opponents in a similar manner like Young Todoroki?"

"Pretty much."

"Why don't you just manipulate the ice that missed?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "Huh?"

"From what I've seen so far, you can still manipulate your Quirk without having to touch it. Take your fight with Young Bakugo for example, you forced yourself into the air by making an ice pillar appear beneath you, and without touching it, you made it extend another pillar for you to kick back against it to drop down on him. Correct?"

She nodded.

"Then if it's speed you want to give your attack then why not just avoid preparing your ice dragon to attack once more and simply continue from when you missed?" he proposed.

The first thing Mizuha pictured was an old video game she used to play when she was younger. The goal of the game was to break all the bricks on the upper part of the screen with a single ball that you had to prevent from losing. The ball had to bounce against a little bar that you could move from left to right to avoid losing it. The ball would land on it and bounce against the sides of the screen to continue breaking the bricks. The ball would continue to bounce without stopping if you kept the ball in the game.

That's how she pictured her ice dragon.

Instead of simply stopping her ice from hitting the ground or preparing it to attack her opponent again once it missed, she could simply could let it hit the ground and let it freeze the point of contact. From there, the ice could simply dart towards her opponent from the ground and continue pursuing her opponent. Indeed, that would make her attack faster.

Mizuha's mouth made a small 'o'.

"I never thought of that." Mizuha admitted. "… that actually might work."

Mizuha looked at All Might with a grateful looking smile on her face. "Thank you, All Might!"

Seeing the smile on her face made him return it with his own. His goal for showing up at Gym Gamma was to offer some help to his students, and he was glad he was already able to help one of them.

"You're welcome," he said. "Now, you should get going. Don't you have to tutor Young Togata soon?"

Mizuha blinked.

She looked at the time again.

There was only fifteen minutes left.

Mizuha sighed and dropped her head while shoving her phone back in her pocket. She thanked All Might again before dashing off to change out of her costume.

* * *

Mizuha was pretty fast when it came to changing clothes.

She had so much time to spare that she could spend at least two minutes wallowing in her pain right now. Mere seconds ago, after changing into regular clothes, she accidentally rammed her toe against the foot of her bed. She fell oh-so-gracefully against the mattress while hissing in pain, cradling her foot in her hands.

She remained still, waiting for the pain to pass.

Then, her phone made a sound that indicated that she received a new text message. She looked up at her headboard where her phone was charging. With a frown, she released her foot and slithered towards the top of her bed and reached for her phone. Once it was detached, she pressed the button to see who messaged her at this time.

 _Togata_ (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

Curious, she opened the message.

 _Togata: Hey, teach! I'm going to the library soon_

 _Togata: Are you at the dorm?_

 _Togata: Let's go together!_

She didn't answer.

The right corner of her mouth started to tug upwards.

She got Togata's number during their third meeting, he was the one who suggested that they trade numbers just in case he needed to ask her a quick question while he studied on his own. Also, for their third session, Mizuha decided to get some popsicles with the WINNER stick she had. She had asked her uncle to bring her to school early so that she could copy what her senior did; put the treats in the refrigerator. Needless to say, the older student was delighted about it. For him, it seemed like this was her answer to his attempt to make her less aloof around him.

To put it simply, Mizuha came to like Togata. He was a nice guy.

The vibe during fourth and recent meeting last week was more of an easy going type thanks to Togata cracking jokes every now and then, often adding a little teasing here and there just to make her react. It definitely seemed like he had some experience in dealing with her type.

Hell, he even scared her when she arrived at their usual place. When Eijin felt like she was alright in going to the library on her own without having to hold her hand, he usually parted ways with her after climbing up the first staircase. The blond fool frightened her by stepping into her bubble and letting out a loud 'BOO!' the moment she opened the door. This made Mizuha let out a yell and she hunched while taking a few terrified staggering steps away from him, making him laugh at her expression.

Mizuha wondered if she should get her revenge by scaring him after tailing him secretly.

 _Togata: You read my message!_

 _Togata: Hellooo!_

 _Mizuha: I'm already at school waiting for you_

 _Togata: Seriously?!_

 _Togata: Okay okay I'm on my way!_

Mizuha grinned. _Gullible._

The girl immediately jumped out of her bed and started making her way to her door. She snatched her bag off the ground and zipped it closed while she ran to the elevator, jamming her finger on the button to open the doors and wasted no time in entering.

Once the elevator arrived down on the first floor, she dashed out, zooming towards the front doors of the dormitory. A grin was clearly visible as she ran out the doors. She felt like such a little kid that was ready to play the best prank of the year. She was excited to get her revenge.

She was used to scaring Byakuren in her house when he came over. When he would announce that he needed to use the bathroom, she would pause her game or continue playing while sticking close to the wall that Byakuren would pass by once he returned. She always got the best reactions out of him.

The boy nearly tripped backwards out of fear when she walked into his sight while saying 'hello'.

Trying to be as stealthy as possible, she crouched next to the nearest bush so she could glance to her left where the third year dormitories were situated. She didn't see a single student in sight.

With that, she looked ahead and breathed in.

She made a mad dash for the school.

…

…

…

"What are you doing in here?!"

Sho tilted his head.

When Mizuha arrived at school, she felt something moving and padding on her back, inside her bag. At first she thought it was her pencil case that was awkwardly positioned after being jolted around in her bag while she ran, but it became clear to her that it wasn't the case once the moving didn't cease. It was when she arrived on the floor where the library was that she decided to look inside.

She was half-horrified and half-amused by the sight of her dog.

He must have waddled into her bag while it was open on the floor back at the dorm.

"Ruff!"

"Ah hell no!"

Mizuha scampered off to the library in a haste. At this rate, her plan to scare Togata was a little disorganized now that her dog was added in. She didn't want her dog giving her away. Mizuha slightly opened the door and place her ear next to the gap, listening closely for any alarming sounds. She heard very distant footsteps walking towards the door but she couldn't tell if it belonged to him. If there were other students in the school doing who knows what then the person approaching the library might not even be her senior. The girl decided to be prepared anyway.

She ran to a hidden table that wasn't visible from where they usually sat and placed her bag on top with her dog sitting inside. Thinking it would help her, she placed a finger in front of her lips and shushed Sho. After doing so, she turned around and darted between bookshelves.

She was debating whether or not she should take off her slip on shoes to add to her stealth.

The footsteps echoing in the hallway were approaching the library.

From her spot, she took out her phone and tapped on the camera application. She used her index finger and thumb to zoom in and then slowly tilt her phone to the side, pointing her camera towards the library doors. From her angle, she saw the doors slide open and she saw her target entering while whistling a happy tune.

She quickly retracted her phone before he could notice it and simply placed it on the bookshelf. She needn't need to make unnecessary noise while rustling of her clothes or dropping her phone as she tried to shove it back inside the pocket, she usually carried it in.

As Togata walked near the bookshelf she was hiding behind, she carefully walked towards the end he was approaching and waited for him to get close.

Once she saw his shoulder, she stomped her foot loudly and grabbed onto his arm.

The taller boy's whistle suddenly went a pitch higher. He jolted on the spot and stared at her with his eyes wide open.

He was used to being the scarer, especially with the Quirk he had, so being frightened like this was a new experience.

"Hyoumei!" he exclaimed. "You nearly made me jump out of my skin!"

The girl removed her hand from his arm and smirked triumphantly as she picked up her phone from the shelf. His reaction was not as big as hers but it was enough to satiate her mild hunger for vengeance. She simply walked past him and held up a hand that formed a V for victory. It made Togata chuckle.

Mizuha quickly told him she would be right back and jogged off towards the hidden table of the library.

Sho, who was waiting patiently, started wagging his tail at the sight of her. He perked his head up when she reached for him and her bag that he was sitting in. With a little smile, she thanked him for being quiet and brought him along with her to the usual tutoring table.

Togata was busy taking out his things to notice that Mizuha had set her bag on a low bookshelf next to the window, away from their table. It took him a few seconds to realize that she was doing something while facing the window. He stopped his hands and stared at her back curiously, wondering what she was doing. Did she perhaps bring something new to their session?

"Why are you standing over there?" he asked, turning his body in his chair and resting his arm on top of the backrest to properly look at her.

She pulled out the notebook she usually brought, and turned around to look at him and hummed questioningly.

Now that Mizuha moved away from her bag, Sho was revealed to the blond student, who was staring at him, and panted with its tongue out.

Togata was quiet.

He broke the silence.

"… Hyoumei, I can't accept that."

"… What?"

"Popsicles and dogs are two different things…"

Mizuha stared at him, clearly confused about what he just said. She had a hard time finding a link to his words. It took her brain a few seconds to work through everything with his words as its only clues.

"What? No!" she shook her head. "This is my dog." she pointed her finger at herself. "I'm not giving him away!"

Togata relaxed. "Oh, okay." then he laughed for being silly.

 _Who on earth would get someone a dog instead of popsicle?_

"He just snuck inside my bag while I wasn't looking…" she said, turning her head to look at Sho.

"Ruff ruff!"

Mizuha gave her dog a tired look.

To avoid making Sho a distraction for Togata, she left her dog up on the low bookshelf. It seemed like he was going to behave there since he seemed quite cozy in there.

She pulled the chair in front of Togata and set her things on the table. "I got him yesterday… My brother snuck inside the dorm and dropped him off in a box in my room."

Togata flipped open his notebook, occasionally glancing down to see where he was turning to, he laughed lightly. "Interesting brother you got there." he mused. "What's his name?" he pointed at the white animal with his mechanical pencil.

She answered without missing a beat while sitting down. "Sho."

"That's a nice name."

Suddenly, they heard a booming sound echoing inside the quiet school. The two students looked at each other, bewildered. Sho perked its head up, awakened from his nap.

"… the hell was that?" Mizuha whispered.

Togata blinked and then turned his head, with his eyes looking upwards. "It sounded like it came from the Development Studio…"

Mizuha recalled what her homeroom teacher said earlier before they started training in Gym Gamma. After he told them to think about whether or not they should think about improving their costumes to help their Quirks. The Development Studio was probably where they could file in a request to get something done for their costumes.

"My class is getting ready to participate in the Provisional Licensing Exam. So, I suppose that booming sound had to be related to upgrading costumes…" she leaned her cheek inside her right palm, leaning to the side and boringly staring at some random book tucked away in the lower shelf of some bookshelf.

Togata hummed and twirled the pencil in his hand. "Provisional Licensing Exam? I think that's happening around the time I do my make up test." he stopped spinning his pencil.

Realizing this, Togata frowned apologetically.

 _Oh no, he's not smiling._

"Now I feel bad for making you cut time to help me out. That exam is pretty important and you should be preparing for that with all the time you have."

Mizuha waved her free hand in front of her in a dismissive manner. "No, no. Don't worry about it. My uncle is going to help me make up for the time I missed. I mean… _this_ is his doing in the first place, he _needs_ to make up for it."

He seemed half convinced with that.

"Really, don't worry about it. Just worry about your exam."

"Hmm, well, if you need help with anything. I'll be happy to help you out since you're helping me!" He smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up.

She appreciated his offer; it had been clear with the growing curve on the right side of her mouth. She pursed her lips and nodded twice, fixing her sitting posture into a proper one.

"Enough about that. Let's get started." she said while opening up her notebook, flipping the white pages to find the last one she wrote on. "I think we're almost done with everything, so if we continue at this pace then we'll have enough time to review twice before your make up test."

The boy let out a heavy sigh, relieved.

"Man, you're a super good tutor. I thought we wouldn't have time for a review when I was having trouble with those first exercises."

She only huffed. "That's because you gave up too quickly when I assigned those exercises!"

"They were difficult!" he said sheepishly.

And that's why he suggested they trade numbers.

"But now, I'm certain I can pass that test no problem thanks to your guidance!"

"I hope so because, to be honest," she looked at him. "you were my second and worst student so far." she deadpanned.

"Aw, come on, don't say that!"

* * *

Once their tutoring session was over, Togata and Mizuha walked down the path that led to the dorms together seeing as they were both heading back to their new homes. He had his own things to take care of while Mizuha had to rest up for the day. It seemed way too early for her to go to bed but seeing as how she was feeling exhausted, she had a hunch that she'd be able to fall asleep very easily, unless she chose to play games or something.

She was wondering if her class was still back at the gym? Nah, Aizawa wasn't that cruel to make them train non-stop. Wait. Maybe he was since they only had ten days to prepare themselves? Just thinking about it made her frown deeply.

 _Ten days to prepare, huh?_

"What's up with that frown?"

Togata's voice brought her back from her thoughts. He was standing a head of her at the spot where they were most likely going to part ways from there. The little dog was in his arms since he wanted to carry him on the way back, he called it positive reinforcement.

Mizuha stopped in her tracks and shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just thinking about the ten days I have until the exam."

The taller student held out Sho for her to take and then patted her head when she securely took him.

"Well, I know from experience that there's no use in just crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. Just train hard and be mentally prepared, and I think you'll be fine."

"You think so?"

"I know so." he grinned and reached for his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. "Proof is right here." he flashed her his Provisional Hero License ID card.

"Okay, okay." chuckled Mizuha while waving a hand lazily, telling him that he could put it away.

With that, they both bid each other adieu and made their way back to their own dormitory. As soon as she arrived at the front doors, she set down Sho on the steps and opened the door for the two of them. The sound of the door opening seemed to have caught the attention of the residents hanging around the first floor since a few a them started walking up to her.

"Mizuha!" Kaminari exclaimed, one of the first to stand in front of her. "Where'd you go earlier?"

"Yeah, you literally just waved at me and left the gym and never came back." Kirishima said.

"Did you get hurt?" Ashido asked, curiously.

"Do you have another deal with Aizawa-sensei or something?" Byakuren whispered.

"Ruff!"

Now, if her uncle hadn't told her something specific back when they were discussing about her tutoring Togata, she would have answered honestly. He told her that no one knew that he was taking a make-up test except for them and the Principal. Obviously, this knowledge has been shared with certain educators since it was going to interfere with Mizuha's schedule, resulting in the circle of people knowing this information to grow. Maybe it wasn't such a big deal to tell her classmates about her whereabouts, but she found it a big deal and the question was clear in her head; was she allowed to tell others? Hiding it was most likely an easy feat for her and telling the truth seemed more difficult. They'd probably find out sooner or later, so…

"I was doing something with Kishokei-sensei."

And of course, the next question was related to why.

She decided to reveal her secret, which wasn't really a secret, while adding a truth to it. Eijin Kishokei, their second math teacher, was Mizuha's maternal uncle. Her dull eyed uncle was helping her out with her Quirk since he was familiar with water based Quirks, which explained why she had to leave early. One lie and one truth, it seemed fair.

Obviously, certain people were surprised by this revelation while others only nodded since they already knew this information.

Only one person was staring at her suspiciously throughout her whole explanation, narrowing his light purple eyes while pursing his lips.

* * *

When morning came, Mizuha was woken up by someone shaking her shoulder. Confused and slightly annoyed, she turned her head to look behind her. She first caught a glimpse of her balcony window to try and get a feel of what time it was. The sun wasn't even out and shinning with all its might on the world. Who the hell had the audacity to barge into her room and wake her at this ungodly hour?

"Come on, wake up, kiddo."

"… The hell? Uncle Eijin, what are you doing in my room? At…" she reached for her phone and looked at the time. "fucking 5 AM?"

For her profanity, he reached out a hand and pinched her nose, a sound you only compare to a crow cawing escaped her drowsy self.

"Language. Now, get ready you're starting training early today."

On a school day, she was used to waking up early, she made her body get accustomed to waking at such an hour. Summer was a different story; she allowed her body to sleep as much as it wanted, despite waking up at the hour of the tiger or the rabbit.

As Taishiro asked, she was trying to get more sleep.

"What… why?" she despaired.

"Because now it's my turn to help you out."

Mizuha groaned and buried her face in her pillow.

…

…

…

Her uncle was nice enough to make her breakfast while she got ready to head out. It was a pleasant surprise considering it wasn't often she got to eat her uncle's cooking. He was no chef but he certainly didn't suck at it either.

They arrived together at the empty Gym Gamma, the ground was back to its basic level.

Mizuha yawned into her right glove and wiped away the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

Her uncle stood in front of her.

"Now, we'll be working on creating your ultimate moves for the Provisional Licensing Exam. Nothing new, right?"

"I guess." she stretched her arms.

"However, I'm sure that some of your classmates, who already somewhat mastered their ultimate moves, have already began thinking about other possible moves that could be of use to them. I'm sure Bakugo is one of those."

Mizuha nodded, with her interest painfully obvious, held up two fingers. "So, you want me to come up with a second one?"

"Yes, but not exactly. In order to have you experience more with your other water states, I want you to come up with an ultimate move for each state; gas, liquid and solid. You see, compared to your solid form, the others aren't as strong because you haven't properly trained them."

"But I thought I was good at using the two others…"

It sounded more like a question.

"Sure, you've made progress," he agreed. "but it won't be enough when you feel like that particular form is more suited for whatever situation you're in, because let's face the facts here, your five years' worth of training with solid doesn't compare to the few months of training with gas and liquid."

What she thought to herself back during the short Training Camp came to her. A quirk is like a muscle, if you don't train it enough then it'll grow weak. In other words, he was right, her solid form was strong but her two other forms were weaker due to the five year negligence.

This was definitely not what she wanted to hear first thing in the morning, but it was something she needed to hear nonetheless.

She felt pressured. She felt nervous. Now that she knew this, could she confidently walk into that exam and be prepared? Was she going to be prepared? Worries overran her once drowsy mind, stirring into a rather panicky state.

But yet, despite all it all, she found herself growing more determined.

She felt pressured. She felt nervous.

She felt _motivated_.

"Okay, then, how do we start?"


	19. Chapter 19: New Strength

Three super moves to create easily became two when she mastered her ice dragon move. Thanks to All Might's advice, the speed of her attack increased and became more effective. As for those two others moves her uncle wanted her to create, it was so easy to think of something, especially with her gas state. Her matches back during the Sports Festival was basically a basket full of creative ideas. Her attacks were all immature which needed tweaking. The liquid state needed a little more time to figure out something, but after hours of thinking and creating random moves as well as a few hours of sleep, the perfect move popped up in her head.

It was only after she began to seriously practice on the two of them that she felt extremely grateful for her uncle's help. He was right. She was definitely rusty with gas and liquid compared to solid. It was a real wake up call.

Presently, Mizuha was sitting outside in the courtyard in front of door. She trusted her back to the door and looked up at the moon hanging above her. The crescent moon stared down at her with its wide smile in the dark sky.

Atop her head was her towel hiding her wet hair that draped on her back like a cape.

Her eyes shut and she enjoyed the cool breeze that the night was offering her.

Mizuha's face looked relaxed at this moment, but her mind was thinking about any possible improvements for her two new moves.

But the knocking on the glass behind her startled her out of her thoughts. Her shoulders jumped and she looked over one of them. When her eyes met with a pair of legs so looked up to see the identity of who was behind her.

There, standing behind the door was she leaning on, was the short brunette with Tsuyu. Both girls looked like they just came out of the shower. They were waving at her from behind the door.

Mizuha scooted away from the entrance of the courtyard. Uraraka pushed the door open and hopped outside with a smile.

"Enjoying the fresh air?" asked the brown-haired girl.

"Yeah." Mizuha replied, shrugging her shoulders a little and slightly tilting her head to the side, making her towel-hood curve and slip off her head.

Tsuyu was the first to notice the state of Mizuha's hair; wet and messy.

"Mizuha-chan, you're going to get sick like that."

Mizuha only pursed her lips and furrowed her brows, "No, I'm not." she denied, fixing her towel so that it could rest on top of her head once more.

Uraraka sweat dropped, "Mizuha, you're outside with wet hair, and it's pretty chilly out here. You're going to catch a cold."

"I always let my hair air dry at home. I don't get sick…"

Suddenly, Mizuha felt her towel roughly shake around her head. A yelp escaped her when she found herself unable to free herself from the brunette's treatment.

"U-Uraraka! Wait—!"

"The Provisional Licensing Exam is getting close; do you really want to get sick?"

"I won't get sick—!"

Mizuha sneezed.

There was a silent pause.

Mizuha sniffled.

The taller girl found herself being pulled up to her feet and getting ushered back inside the building. Tsuyu locked away the courtyard with a simple turn of the lock on the door, and Uraraka started ushering her further inside the building where it was obviously warmer compared to where she was seconds ago.

* * *

Mizuha stood on top of the bench in the changing room and stared at her reflection. Her eyes were wandering everywhere on her Hero Costume, wondering about if she should add or modify anything about it. Her shirt was obviously fine since it just served as the first top layer of her body, but now that she was looking at her black jacket, she was thinking of adding a hood on it, it seemed like a good idea if she wanted to hide her face when she wanted to be sneaky or something. Her alternate top was a sweater with a zipper of the same color for when the weather got colder, if one had a hood then she figured both her tops should have one. Her gloves could remain untouched since they were just fine the way they were, the same thing applied for her dark blue pants. Now, her black and white buckled boots, the more she stared at them, the more she felt like something needed to be added.

Mizuha tilted her head and frowned.

She balanced herself on the bench when she raised up her right foot, then she set down back on the bench, she proceeded to repeat this motion a few times. She did the same thing for her left foot.

She moved her right leg in a way that looked like she kicked the air. The red sole underneath her boot reflected in the mirror, giving her a perfect view of her sole.

Her eyes blinked.

She dropped her foot back on the bench and immediately hopped off, dashing towards the exit of the girls' changing room. Her hand grasped the handle of the door and she unblocked the exit and started running down the hallway.

...

...

...

Todoroki walked calmly down the corridor; he was on his way to the Development Studio. After thinking over it, he was able to think of something that would serve as an upgrade to his Hero Costume. He raised his right arm and looked at the bare skin that was not covered by his sleeve. He needed something to prevent the temperature of his ice and fire from traveling up his arms. His vest already consisted of something similar to help regulate them, so he thought of making something similar for his arms.

The boy heard the sound of footsteps running not too far away from where he was, most likely coming from the right. If he had to be precise, he would have to say that someone was wearing boots judging from the heavy sound.

Seeing as he was already close to the corner where the sound was coming from, he thought it would be wise to simply stop right there and wait to prevent an unfortunate accident like getting rammed into and probably falling to the ground. He lowered his arm and fixed his eyes on the corner.

What he first saw was a blur of black and dark blue reveal itself. When his mismatched eyes finally caught up with the figure, he was surprised to see his friend in such a hurry.

Mizuha's hair whipped messily as she turned towards the direction in front of Todoroki and continued running. It was only when she realized that someone had been standing not too far away that she turned to look behind her. Her hair swished out of her view, allowing her to see a Todoroki looking rather surprised by her appearance. Immediately, she stopped her feet and nearly fell from the quick rotation.

Todoroki was taken back when he saw her running towards him.

"Todoroki!" she exclaimed, "I was just looking for you!" she stopped in front of him.

"Why? What's wrong?" he asked curiously and a tad bit concerned.

Mizuha pointed at his boots. "Show me your soles!"

He stared at her for a moment, wondering what to think of her sudden urgency, but he removed his right boot nonetheless. He held it up for her to see it and saw how her onyx orbs examined the sole. She started examining it with her eyes.

"Can I ask what this is about?"

Her eyes flickered to his and she pursed her lips. "Remember when we talked about how is it that we were able to walk on ice?"

He nodded.

"You told me that you had these soles that lets you walk on your ice? I was thinking of doing the same for my boots."

Todoroki smiled an amused smile as he lowered his hand holding his footwear, "I thought you said that you relied solely on your bodily balance."

"Yeah, well... I'm thinking of lessening the work my body goes through whenever I use my Quirk. Sure, when I walk or run on ice it feels like second nature but it still requires effort to avoid slamming my face on the ice."

Todoroki put his boot back on and motioned his head in the direction he was on his way to. "Why don't we go to the Development Studio together? That way you can ask them for an upgrade while showing mine as an example."

The girl was quick to agree to his proposal. Her plan was to memorize whatever she needed and ask for something similar, but Todoroki's proposal was definitely making her life easier.

Side by side, they walked together to the Development Studio.

Discreetly, Todoroki looked at her from the side.

 _She looks okay._

"By the way, is everything alright?"

Honestly, he was concerned by how she was acting. She seemed so busy. He would spot her leaving the gym as soon as Aizawa called for her, and she would hurriedly dash out of the building and run off to a destination he didn't know of. When she would return, she would have her dog with her and she would look drained, acting sometimes rather loopy like when they went to I-Island. Most of them would stay in the common area before heading to bed in the direction of simply discuss and keep themselves updated on how they were doing, but Mizuha would always choose to excuse herself from socializing and head to bed, acting almost in the same manner as when she first started school. Then, the next day, she would already be working on her Quirk in Gym Gamma with her uncle. As soon as they arrived, Joker would leave her so that she could resume training with Ectoplasm instead. Whenever their booked time for Gym Gamma was over, she would retreat to her room and rest.

They literally just started their week and she's already looking exhausted.

Mizuha looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"You just seem _so_ busy and tired. Compared to you, we don't look as drained as you do after a day of training." he explained, "You're not overworking yourself, are you?"

Her index finger scratched her chin. Her busy schedule was apparent to him, that means she needed to hide her fatigue during her busier days. Still, she was touched that he was worried about her. But she didn't know if she could explain her current life up until the Provisional Licensing Exam without exposing Togata. Honestly, she really needed to ask her uncle if it was alright to talk about it.

Her hand rose up and it rested on the taller boy's shoulder, patting it twice before moving away, "I'm alright, don't worry too much about it. I'm just catching up on training and stuff."

It was at this moment that Todoroki felt unfortunate to not be able to tell if she was masking the truth or actually being truthful.

Just to make sure, he leaned closer to her and stared at her face. Mizuha was startled from his sudden closeness and stared at him oddly.

"W-What?"

 _If there are no dark circles... then that means she's been getting enough rest. That's good._

He moved away, "Just trying to make sure you're really fine." he said.

This made a confused sound escape her, "How?"

"By looking out for dark circles under your eyes."

This made Mizuha laugh a little, "My superior during my internship told me to sleep more when he found out I haven't been sleeping properly."

She could still clearly remember the scolding Fatgum gave her.

"Is that why you've been sleeping early?"

"Yep." she replied without missing a beat.

 _Also, because I have to train with uncle Eijin in the morning, and I don't want to feel dead by the time you guys arrive. I need the damn energy to catch up._

Before they knew it, they made it to the Development Studio. Mizuha was the closest to the door, so she reached for the handle. Just as she was about to make a move to open it, there was an explosion from inside. What scared her was the door bursting open and letting out the black smoke from the explosion slither into the hallway. It frightened her in a way where she jerked away from the door and nearly ran into her classmate when she tried running away from it. Todoroki held her shoulders in place just before she tipped back and knocked him down, watching alongside her as someone started stepping out of the smoke. When it was safe, Mizuha stepped away from him and decided to speak up by saying a confused 'hello'.

When the person fully made it out of the smoke, they were greeted by a student wearing a grin on her face.

 _Oh, how could I forget this one? She definitely made herself known by making Iida a literal walking billboard._

"Who might you two be? Hero Course students? Oh, are you here for a Hero Costume upgrade?"

"... I'm Hyoumei Mizuha. I need an upgrade..."

"Todoroki Shouto. I need one too."

"Ah, yes, yes! The students who won second and third place in the Sports Festival, correct?" the pink haired girl's grin widened, "Both of you have nice Quirks!" she complemented before introducing herself as Hatsume Mei.

* * *

At 5:25 AM, a certain student got up from his bed as soon as he heard the sound of the front doors of the dorm open and close. He had set an alarm prior to getting up and had opened his balcony door to keep an ear out for the specific sound.

He locked away his balcony and started fixing his bed hastily before quickly moving around the room to get ready.

He put on his vest dark purple vest and fixed the black turtleneck attached to it. He firmly attached his grey belt to keep his black pants in place. Then, he sat down and started putting on his shin-high black boots that had the same red soles as his friend. Once that was done, he swiped off his long white coat from his desk chair and made his way out of his room with his phone in his back pocket. His gloves that revealed the skin of his knuckles were tucked away in his coat's pockets, each appropriately placed in the right pocket for the correct hand.

He left his room and took the elevator down to the first floor. As the doors opened, he was immediately greeted by the faint smell of fried eggs. His feet brought him to the counter and saw the pan that was used along with two plates that seemed to have just been washed, all drying off near the sink.

With a yawn, they decided to grab a cup of beef noodles for their breakfast and ate without wasting too much time.

Not too long after, he left the dormitory and started marching off to Gym Gamma. The doors were open, indicating that someone was someone was already inside. If that wasn't enough to prove so, the sound running footsteps echoed inside.

When he poked his head inside, he was greeted by white. Confused, he stepped further into the white fog but still found himself surrounded by the same whiteness. It was rather humid as well.

 _This is just like when I fought her..._

Then, he heard the running footsteps charging towards him. He was still in a state of confusion when he realized what was happening. Out of the white fog came charging a girl, her hand was pulled back into a fist and she immediately shot it towards him the moment he became apparent in her field of vision. They both let out a cry; his was out of fright while hers was out of surprise. He stumbled backwards, tripping over his feet and instantly dropping on his rear. She was able to divert her fist away from their face, making her body awkwardly shift. Thankfully, she stopped on herself before she fell on him.

She stared down at him, an amused grin slowly stretching on her face.

He was staring back at her, shocked.

The white steam dissipated, revealing the true Gym Gamma and a familiar adult standing far away.

Eijin stood up correctly from his stance and wondered why his niece stopped her Quirk. He teetered his head to the side when he saw her standing in front of the entrance, staring down at something... or someone. The white hair and the white coat were enough to give it away.

"Oi! Byakuren, what are you doing here?" he asked when he started walking to them.

The platinum blond haired girl only moved away from her uncle's sight, allowing him to fully see the interrupter of their training, she didn't even bother helping him up.

Byakuren got up from the floor and dusted himself off, "I just wanted to know what Mizuha was up to."

Mizuha gave him the are-you-serious look and held up a hand with the other on her hip, "I'm training for the exam, you dunce."

He stood in front of her and shook his head, "Nuh-uh! You're doing more than just that!" he poked her shoulder with a single finger, "You're always leaving early and training early, what's up with that?"

Mizuha stared at him blankly, "Oh thanks for reminding me." she turned her head to look at her relative, "Can I talk about Togata or is that a secret?"

The dull-eyed instructor only waved his hand, "It's not much of a secret anymore since all the teachers are aware of it. I'm sure he has told his friends anyway." he said before shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, it wasn't really a big secret."

The girl pursed her lips and crossed her arms, "You should have said that at the beginning! I thought I had to keep it a secret since you said no one knew about it."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!"

Byakuren cleared his throat and stared at both of them with an expecting face.

"Okay, okay, fine. For two weeks now, I've been tutoring a third year so that he can continue his work-study when the semester starts. I cut time during the days when I need to tutor him, and the next day I wake up early to come here and train with uncle Eijin. That's the 'big' secret."

The white-haired boy stared back at her in disbelief, "Seriously? That's it?"

"What were you expecting? You thought I was on a secret mission or something?" she scoffed.

"I thought you were slacking off by finding an excuse... and then using your uncle to catch up. I don't know, I just knew that you were hiding something!"

Mizuha rolled her eyes, "Must you be so worried over something so little?"

"Of course, I'm worried! You can't even take care of yourself unless someone tells you to!"

She shoved him.

He flicked her forehead.

Eijin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "Alright, alright," he stopped them before Mizuha decided to shove him even harder, "Mizuha appreciates how you worry over her, but we're busy right now, so save your playful quarrel for when you're back at the dorm."

Byakuren shrugged, "While I'm here, why don't I help? I've already got a hang of my super move."

Eijin raised an eyebrow and then crossed his arms. "Are you sure?"

The boy nodded and revealed his.

Boreas. A move named after the Greek god of the north wind. Byakuren generates rough wind currents that gathers into one hand. He extends that hand, sending a tornado towards the target, letting it take shape of a massive sideway tornado. When the target is caught in the tornado, the surrounding wind begins to slice into their skin, making it difficult for them to stand once they've escaped or been released.

She told him hers.

Total White-Out. It was the white fog he had seen when he entered Gym Gamma. This allowed Mizuha to summon up mist that blinds her opponents, imitating the whiteout during a snowstorm. Mizuha is able to maintain the radius of the mist with strong concentration. The mist had to be thick enough so that her opponents cannot see, meaning their defense becomes vulnerable. The opponent and the user become blinded by the mist, and so far the only way to find each other is through sound. However, strong wind-based attacks can easily blow this away. To put it simply, it was sort of like a trap.

Aqua Protection. She would conjure up a torrent of water to surround herself. The water is high pressured, allowing it to counter attacks that might try to dispel it. With good control, she can prevent the water from evaporating from strong fire-based attacks. It served as an offensive and defensive barrier.

Dragon Rush. A revamp of her improvised move from her match with Mokuen. Instead of having a tsunami-like ice rush towards her opponent to trap them and freeze whatever it touches, she changed its shape to resemble a Chinese dragon. It moves according to Mizuha's manipulation and will trap the enemy under ice once it finally catches them. If used correctly, she can split the dragon into two and control it from afar. In addition, she can allow herself to act as another source of attack by attempting to reach her opponent on her own.

"Hey, instead of training yourself to be acute in hearing for Total White-Out, why don't you ask Hatsume to make you something that could allow you to see heat? Like heat detector goggles?" Byakuren suggested while making goggles around eyes with his hands.

Eijin shook his head, "She said she doesn't want to ask for that because she's scared it might break. Plus, she doesn't want to constantly have to see her surroundings in heat."

"... And also, because I don't really want to have something on my face." Mizuha sheepishly admitted.

Byakuren stared at her in disbelief. He reached a hand out and pinched her cheek.

"Oww!"

"Then ask for something that hangs around your neck like Aizawa-sensei, dummy!"

"B-But I already went there to upgrade, I don't wanna go back there and ask again!"

He pinched her harder.

"That's their job!"

"OWW!"

* * *

As suggested, she paid another visit to the Development Studio. This time, Power Loader was there when she asked for a support item. Her request consisted of an item that would allow her to see her target in a way where she could see their heat, comparing it to heat detector goggles. Since it was something that would only be of use during Total White-Out, she figured she wouldn't need something that would constantly be in her face, and if possible, she'd want something that wasn't tinted in color (so she wouldn't have to see the world tinted in a particular color…)

Before she could finish her last part of her request, Hatsume had shoved these fat black goggles into her face, eager for her to try it on with gleeful eyes. Mizuha nearly formed an ice wall from how she suddenly got into her face.

It was done in two days.

Hatsume presented her newly made support item on the table with a grin.

Mizuha looked at it.

It was a pair of goggles but the they were shaped more like a visor. The visor was tinted in blue and the rest of it was black like her jacket.

"I had fun experimenting with this baby!" Hatsume exclaimed before taking them off the table and maneuvering behind Mizuha.

Before she could even ask what, the girl's intention was, she found the visor on her face.

Surprisingly, everything was still in the same colors as she when first saw them. Hatsume stepped in front of her and spread her arms.

"As you can see, the goggles aren't performing like heat vision goggles."

She approached Mizuha and tapped something on the right side of her head, "But with a single button, it shall activate!"

Her sight was then tinted in blue, but not so much so that she could still see things normally. When she looked at Hatsume, she could still see her pink hair and black shirt, but the heat from within her became more apparent.

She pressed the same button that Hatsume had touched mere seconds ago.

Her sight was back to normal.

 _Whoa... this is cool._

"I designed them in a way where you could still see the way you want to, and as you requested, you could take them off when you don't need them! I know you said not to have them tinted, but it shouldn't be a bother if you don't see the color, right?"

Mizuha removed them and stared at the lenses from the opposite side. She was right, she could still see clearly without seeing blue, but you could clearly see it was tinted. It reminded her of a car window.

"You'll also be able detect other people through walls."

The Hero Course student looked up from the visor in surprise. "Seriously?"

* * *

It was the fourth day of training and her moves were improving at the same pace thanks her teachers, especially her uncle's guidance. Also, thanks to Hatsume, she was able to find her way inside her own move and attack her target without losing sight of them. Her mind reprimanded her for not asking for such a thing earlier when she first thought of it.

Mizuha was actually taking a quick break when she heard the sound of something breaking, and then there was a cry for someone to look out. Curious about what was going on behind her, Mizuha glanced back and was just in time to witness Midoriya zoom past her and kick the rock, shattering it into pieces. Just below the previously intact rock, was a shocked and impressed looking All Might. The green haired boy landed on the ground.

She joined Kaminari and Kirishima that were approaching Midoriya, having also witnessed his kick. Byakuren tagged along when he saw his friend jog past him.

"What was that, Midoriya? You just waltzed in there and showed some amazing destructive power!" Kaminari exclaimed.

"I thought you were a puncher."

"Kaminari, Kirishima. The destructive power is thanks to these soles Hatsume suggested for me." Midoriya held up one foot to show the sole, "and I learned how to use my body from Iida and changed my fighting style." he explained, "I've only figured out what direction I'll be going now, but it's still just a stopgap, and I don't have anything I can call an ultimate move yet…"

"No, I think it's already more effective than just a stopgap." reassured the former Symbol of Peace. "Especially for the Provisional Licensing Exam."

"It's dangerous here, All Might." Aizawa warned with a frown. "Don't get too close."

"Oh, excuse me!" he held up his good hand apologetically before lowering it, and then looking up. "Sorry about that, Young Bakugo!"

All the students looked up at the said boy who was only glaring down at them. Judging from that apology, it seemed like Bakugo had been the one to make that rock fall in the first place, obviously it wasn't on purpose.

The ash blond haired boy scoffed and turned around, "Watch your damn self, All Might!" he said while unleashing an explosion.

Byakuren whistled next to Mizuha, both watching his smoke dissipating in the air.

"You guys made improvements to your costumes, too?"

Kaminari grinned, "You noticed?"

Mizuha tugged her visor, "It's not much though."

"You're not the only one with a new style!" Kirishima added. "The others are making changes here and there, too."

Byakuren laughed lightly and waved his hand in front of his face, "I didn't." he admitted before looking at his three classmates curiously. "So, I know Midoriya got something to improve his legs and Mizuha got heat sensors, but what about you two?"

Kaminari was the first one to react, looking super excited in sharing his part, "It's seriously amazing! You wanna see it work, right now?!" he held up his right arm that had circular object attached to it.

"That's enough, Class A!" a familiar voice boomed throughout the entire gym. "Today, Class B is scheduled to use this place in the afternoon."

"Class B?"

"Man, what terrible timing!" Kaminari whined.

"Eraser, hurry up and get out of the way."

"We still have almost ten minutes." he pointed out. "You're not good at using time wisely, Vlad."

A certain blond character stepped forward. "Hey, did you know? The provisional licensing exam has a 50% fail rate. All of you should just fail!"

Mizuha rubbed her eye with her finger, she wasn't the least interested in Monoma, having already heard about his craziness from Byakuren.

 _Aah, I should have slept earlier last night…_

"Isn't it too early for this annoyance?" Byakuren moaned out quietly, turning his head away to sigh.

"Still, his opinion is reasonable." Tokoyami appeared with the rest of the class. "As long as we are taking the same exam, it is our fate to crush each other."

This made Byakuren tilt up properly, a foxy smile adorning his face. He looked directly at Monoma and started waving at him. "Hey, buddy! I can't wait to destroy you during the exam!"

Monoma paled.

"No, Class A and Class B applied to different locations." Aizawa informed them.

Byakuren lowered his arm and huffed in annoyance while muttering an inaudible curse.

"The Hero Licensing Exam takes place each June and September in three different locations across the country at the same time. In order to avoid students from the same school fighting each other, all schools subscribe to the theory of splitting up their students by the time or location." Class B's homeroom teacher explained to them.

"It is unfortunate that we will not be able to fight each other directly! Ahahahahaha! You should consider yourselves lucky—"

Mizuha yawned a poorly covered yawn, loudly.

Byakuren spluttered a laugh he attempted to cover with his hand. Most of her classmates hid their laughs with their hands too.

Kaminari patted her back. "Now, now, you should let him finish his discourse."

"Hm? He was talking?" she feigned ignorance.

Monoma's eye twitched.

"Well, I wouldn't expect anything more coming from the insolent girl of Class 1-A."

If Mizuha was being perfectly honest, she completely forgot about being called the 'rude girl' right after her match with Mokuen. The name didn't even seem to matter to her anymore since it wasn't frequently used around her.

So, she clapped her hands together, slowly with a bored and somewhat tired expression.

Monoma snorted, "And of course, she doesn't answer back because—"

"Because I don't feel like wasting my breath and probably shortening my lifespan talking to you." she deadpanned. "Which I just did right now."

"You—!"

"Alright, enough." Aizawa cut them off to continue explaining the exam. "In addition, there are very few first years in the country trying to get their Provisional Licenses. In other words, the test will have those who've trained longer than you with Quirks you don't know about that they've polished up until now. The actual contents of the exam are unclear, but what _is_ clear is that you all will have a hard time. It's not good to get too hung up about it, but keep that in mind."

With only a few minutes remaining from the aforementioned ten, Aizawa decided to give in to Vlad's request to get out and called all his students to do so. Byakuren and Mizuha walked side by side, passing by Monoma who still looked irritated from the previous exchange. He watched them go, but she didn't even spare him one glance. Instead, Byakuren turned his head in his direction and gave him a close-eyed smile while waving his hand at him.

Mizuha was held back when someone pulled her arm back. She looked behind her and found Mokuen using her other hand to motion it in approaching gesture, telling her to come closer to her.

"My brother is also taking the exam."

Mizuha gaped at her, "… Shu is?" she moved away from Mokuen who already removed her hand off her arm.

The other girl grinned, "I think it would be cool if you guys saw each other face-to-face." she said before slipping away into the crowd of her own class.

Mizuha stood there for a moment. She was suddenly dreading more the fact that he was there more than the reality that there were more experienced students at the exam.

 _I don't think I'm mentally prepared for that._

* * *

"They weren't kidding when they said they'd compress all the training." Hagakure slouched in her seat.

"And there's less than a week left before the Provisional Licensing Exam." Yaoyorozu pointed out.

If Mizuha was going to be honest with how she was feeling about the exam, she would say that she was actually pretty confident. Not only did she feel mentally prepared, her new moves and her new support item seem to have sealed the deal for her; she was ready for this exam. Of course, what she felt right now and how she would feel during the exam were two different things.

"Yaomomo, how's your ultimate move coming?" Hagakure leaned forward eagerly.

"There's something I want to do, but my body can't keep up yet, so I need to develop my Quirk a little more first."

"What about you, Tsuyu-chan?"

"I've perfected a move even more frog-like than before. I'm sure even you'll be surprised, Toru-chan."

"What about you, Ochaco-chan?"

Everyone stared at her.

…

…

…

The green haired girl called her name and poked her arm, evoking a startled exclamation from Uraraka.

"Huh?!"

"You seem tired."

"No, no, no! I'm not tired at all. I'm just getting started!"

Ashido, Mizuha and Jiro all stared at her before silently looking at each other.

Mizuha couldn't quite catch what she said since she started lowering her voice but she was able to catch her saying something about how her heart's been feeling all stirred up.

The platinum blond haired girl and the pinked haired one had different reactions to that statement.

"… Huh?"

"It's love!"

"Wh… What? Glove? Shove? Dove? I don't know what you're talking about!"

Ashido bolted up from her seat and got up all in Uraraka's personal space, eager to know if it was either Midoriya or Iida.

"No, no, that's not it! No, no, no, no…!"

Mizuha watched her float away.

"Who is it?!" Hagakure asked.

"I'm telling you, that's not it! I really don't know anything about that stuff…!"

Mizuha grinned with an inaudible chuckle, "Midoriya is pretty cool right, Uraraka?"

The browned haired girl looked at her, slightly surprised by her sudden question.

"Of course, he is."

The satisfied smirk on the taller girl's face was enough to send her into another fit of denials and futile explanations.

 _It was so easy._

Hyoumei leaned back in her seat with her hood on, watching as Uraraka floated near the window. She was clearly flushed by the current situation, and that was enough to feed Ashido's excitement in the topic of love once more. It was actually relieving to not be the one getting interrogated by Ashido.

Her phone started ringing.

Jiro, who was sitting next to Mizuha, looked at the pocket that the ringtone was coming from. Mizuha calmly took out her phone and looked at the screen curiously. Once she saw the name of the caller, she sighed heavily.

She didn't bother excusing herself and answering the call somewhere in a corner, she simply held it up to her ear and said hello. After a few seconds, Mizuha sighed once more, this time out of slight annoyance.

It was Togata asking for help on a particular problem. He sounded quite concerned about this one.

Mizuha decided to retire to her room while excusing herself from leaving the group earlier.

"This better be the only one Togata, I swear. I need to sleep soon!" she hissed in the phone while marching off to the elevator.

* * *

Mizuha sat against the wall while adjusting her right boot. It was early in the morning but her training was not as rigorous as it used to be thanks to her improvements. Her uncle was actually thinking of ceasing her morning training since she was doing so well. He also figured that she would like to sleep a bit more.

He stood in front of her while peering through her visor, testing them out on his own eyes.

"So, like, when can I learn how to point warp and phase through?"

Eijin looked at her, seeing mostly red thanks to the heat detector installed in the visor. His finger pressed the button on the side and he easily removed them from his face.

"I won't teach it to you until you've passed the Provisional Licensing Exam."

She cocked her head to the side, "Can't you still teach it to me if I fail?"

Her uncle shook his head, "If you fail that means you need to improve on certain skills. I won't have you getting distracted from improving by teaching you something new." he gently tossed her the support gear.

Mizuha leaned forward and caught it with both hands, "Do you think it's possible for me to learn a bit right now?"

"No, because if you learn a bit now, then you'll mess up and get hurt during this exam if you try it out."

"… Then I won't use it."

"Nope, still not teaching it to you now."

He was clearly adamant about it, much to her dismay.

Mizuha pouted and turned her head away while fiddling with her visor, "Shiran learned it before he took the Provisional Licensing Exam."

"Because he knew how to fully control his water before the exam. You didn't. He had more time to learn point warping and phasing while coming up with a super move."

"Yeah, yeah rub it in."

Eijin chuckled and stepped closer to his niece. He lowered himself enough for his hand to rest upon her head, ruffling her hair lightly. She only glanced at him with slightly narrowed eyes. He could already tell that she thought it was a bit unfair even though she understood his reasons.

"I'll teach it to you after you pass the exam. That's a promise."

She only nodded once, moving her head away from his hand and then smoothing her hair in place.

* * *

After days of training, the day of the exam was literally right around the corner. Aizawa felt that the students were prepared enough and therefore gave them two days off to rest. It was the day before the exam and Mizuha was with Togata in the library for their final tutoring session. Mizuha felt that doing this second and final review would be very useful for someone like Togata.

At least twenty minutes before the two-hour mark, Mizuha shut the notebook with a satisfied sigh, "Well, now we're finally done with the review. All that's left for you to do is your exam."

Togata dropped his pencil and shot his arms up in the air, "Finally!" he exclaimed before stretching his arms back and then setting them back down on the table with a beaming smile, "I totally feel like I pass this no problem! It feels so different knowing I understand everything!"

Mizuha quirked an eyebrow while putting away her belongings in her bag, "… How do you usually study?"

The simple question made the older student sheepishly rub the nape of his neck while flickering his eyes towards Sho, who was resting on the usual shelf.

"Sometimes I happen to forget to study."

"What the…? How the hell do you forget to study? When I have an exam, I couldn't forget about it even if I tried."

"Well I tend to devote a lot of time perfecting to be a Hero, so I guess that's why I forget. But hey! I do try to study the day before, so…" he trailed off with a laugh.

Mizuha chuckled silently and shook her head while zipping her bag close, "I don't think cramming is for you though."

"Ahahaha! You think so?"

"Oh. I know so."

They both left the library together with Sho walking next to Mizuha.

While Mizuha was going to be doing her Provisional Licensing Exam tomorrow, Togata would also be doing his exam, just not at the same time as her. Both students were somewhat equally prepared for their own examinations.

Mizuha turned her head to look at her dog. Sho was going to be alone for who knows how long the exam and the trip back to school would take. Aizawa told them that they would be leaving early so that they wouldn't be late. Thinking of that, Mizuha thought it would be good to give her uncle a call so that he could take her of her dog while she was gone. The idea of asking Togata briefly crossed her mind but she didn't want to ask. Sure, he seemed to like Sho, but he would probably be busy with his own affairs. Although, imagining him _forgetting_ about Sho was enough to back her up on her decision not to ask the older boy.

They both stopped at the usual that would mark their parting point.

"You'll be the first one to know about my test results after I get them back." Togata swore with a thumbs up.

Mizuha picked up her dog and held him in her arm, she shrugged, "Even if you hide it from me, I'll just ask my uncle how bad it was."

"I think you mean 'how good' it was." he held up a finger.

"Mrowww."

"Oof, my dog doesn't have much faith in you."

Instead of retorting to that, the blond boy only laughed heartily before patting Sho's head and then Mizuha's shoulder.

"Let's both do well on our exams." he beamed, his smile shining brightly.

She should really have a pair of sunglasses whenever she sees him.

He grabbed both her shoulders and spun her around so that she was facing the path to her dorm. He gave her a firm hold before lightly pushing her forward, making her take a few forced steps ahead.

"Now, you go on ahead and rest up for tomorrow, you'll need it!"

This made her laugh lowly to herself. Her feet started moving and she was on her way back to the dorm. As she walked, she turned around to look at Togata who was watching her leave.

"You'll need it, too. I don't want my two weeks' worth of effort to suddenly vanish!"

He only laughed.

If she was being completely honest, that little push that Togata had given her seemed like he was wishing her some sort of luck. She didn't know how to describe the feeling but it was close to luck. Her mind didn't think about it too much because once she looked ahead, she stopped in her tracks.

There, standing meters away from her, was Ashido and Jiro. The first was staring at her with her mouth dropped open and her hands balled in fists in front of her mouth. The second looked rather surprised to see what had unfolded.

Just when she felt relieved for not being interrogated by Ashido.

 _Geez, I gotta explain this carefully to her without making it seem like there was any love involved in this. Oh boy._

She held up her free arm in surrender.

"Okay, I'll tell you the whole story. Just don't jump to conclusions now!"

* * *

They finally arrived at the exam location. It was in an arena located in Takoba.

"Ah, I'm getting so nervous…" Jiro paled, placing a hand on her racing heart.

"That's good." Mizuha nodded. "When I get nervous, I can start focusing on the task at hand."

"... Unlike you, I can't function like that." Jiro grimaced.

"I wonder what we'll have to do..." wondered Mineta, sweating profusely before breathing out heavily. "I hope I can earn a provisional license…"

Aizawa dropped his upper body so that he could look at Mineta dead in the eyes. "Mineta. It's not about whether or not you can. Go and get it!"

"R-Right! Of course!"

Byakuren muffled a laugh in the palm of his hand. The youngest Hyoumei looked at him from the corner of her eyes, wondering what he found so funny at such a serious event.

"When you're so damn short that the teacher gotta actually be short for you."

Mizuha quirked up an eyebrow, "Huh?"

"Remember!" Aizawa addressed the group. "If you can pass this exam and obtain your provisional license, then you novice eggs will become chicks... You'll hatch into semi-pros. Do your best."

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up in realization. If having her provisional licensing exam meant that she was half a Pro... then she would not need to hold back in taking down villains. Without her license, she could not harm someone unless she was under supervision.

 _Well, I already kind of hurt that one guy when Fatgum wasn't around— but anyway, that's such a boon!_

"PLUS ULTRAAA!"

Mizuha literally jumped in her spot at the sudden booming of a voice. Her eyes frantically scanned the area for whoever just yelled a part of her school motto, and found someone unfamiliar standing not too far her group. A giant student was looking enthusiastic with his fist pumped in the air. Her black orbs scanned the boy, starting with the hat on his head. The letter 'S' was already a major hint. Her mind had already associated this student with Shiketsu High School. The school was familiar to her thanks to the time she dedicated in looking into other possible schools, just in case she had to leave U.A High School.

The school was nothing to sneeze at. It was a rivaling school of U.A.'s.

The hat looked cool.

She just didn't want to wear it all the time if she were to attend that school.

"You shouldn't barge in on other people's huddles, Inasa," scolded a new voice. Behind the Shiketsu student were now standing five more students of the same school. "It's not polite."

"Oh, no!" Mizuha eyes watched as he straightened up properly, "I... am..." he slammed his arms against his thighs, "SO SORRY!" He bowed down too deeply that he literally slammed his forehead against the hard cement.

Byakuren and Mizuha both blinked, confused by the sudden weirdness.

"What's up with this guy!?" freaked Kaminari. "What is he trying to get by with just his enthusiasm?!"

"Wait, that uniform…!"

"It's from that famous school in western Japan..."

"U.A. in the east, Shiketsu in the west." Bakugo stated.

Now that the enthusiastic student was deeply bowing in forgiveness, Mizuha could properly the first row of candidates from Shiketsu High School behind him. The first, who scolded the taller one, had similar purple colored hair. His eyes were extremely slanted and his hands were hidden behind his back. On his left, there was a hairy looking student— you literally couldn't see anything but hair on his body. On the right was a girl with long fawn-colored hair, she was looking at the odd the student that was still bowing. She looked past the slant-eyed boy and saw another boy of nearly the same height who had darkish red hair that reminded her of wine. He looked rather bored seeing as his silver orbs were looking at something else absently while having his ears plugged with a pair of red earphones.

Her attention was too focused on that last student that she simply followed with her eyes as they walked past them.

Then, silver eyes glanced in her direction and they narrowed once they found her staring. Immediately, Mizuha flickered her eyes away and stared at the ground.

"Inasa Yoarashi."

Mizuha's eyes looked back up and at her teacher's back.

"Do you know him, Aizawa-sensei?" wondered Hagakure.

"He's strong." he stated. "Last year, the same year as you guys, Yoarashi got the top scores of those admitted through recommendations, but for some reason, he turned down his acceptance."

Mizuha glanced at both Yaoyorozu and Todoroki.

 _I wonder if his abilities are above both Yaoyorozu and Todoroki combined... Well, I know one thing for sure, I'm going to stay away from him during the exam._

"Even though he says he loves U.A., he threw away his chance to enroll." Sero teetered his head to the side. "I just don't get it."

"Right?" Ashido agreed. "What a weirdo."

"He's weird, but he's the real deal," warned Aizawa-sensei. "Keep an eye out for him."

Byakuren scrunched up his nose and frowned. "He has a wind-based Quirk too." he openly informed his classmates.

"How can you tell?" Kirishima asked.

"As a wind user, I can somewhat feel it. Plus, the air around him says enough."

"You can tell that much from the air around someone?" Mizuha gaped.

"Eraser? Eraser, is that you?!"

Said person flinched and then slowly scowled in realization.

Class 1-A turned around and saw a green haired woman coming towards them, a friendly hand in the air as a greeting with smile on her face.

"I've seen you on TV and at the Sports Festival, but it's been a while since I've seen you in person!"

Aizawa did not return her joy in seeing the other. He looked more like he was dreading this situation.

"Let's get married."

"No."

"No?" she repeated before bursting in laughter. "Good one!"

"You're hard to talk to, as usual, Joke." he deadpanned.

If she remembered correctly, Byakuren was the one who first told her about Miss Joke. The first impression she had of the lady's Quirk was that it was a weird one, but apparently it was super effective.

"If you marry me, we could build a blissful home with never-ending laughter!" she claimed.

"That sounds like a nightmare." Mizuha deadpanned, speaking her mind without meaning to.

Hearing her comment, Miss Joke looked at her and sputtered a laugh with a thumbs up. "Nice comeback!"

"O-Oh... uh." Mizuha scratched the back of her nape.

"You two seem close." Tsuyu pointed out.

"Our agencies used to be close to each other." answered Miss Joke before holding her hands together. "In our cycle of helping and being helped, our mutual love for each other bloomed—"

 _"No, it didn't."_

"Oh, nice quick retort! You're so worth teasing, Eraser!"

"Joke, since you're here, that means…"

The green haired lady nodded. "That's right!" she turned around and called over her own class.

Catching up to her was Ketsubutsu Academy, another one of the choices Mizuha had listed as another potential school to move to. At the very front were two students who looked excited about seeing the U.A. students. The girl on the left looked way more excited than the boy with a cool face.

"Ketsubutsu Academy, second years, Class 2!" introduced Miss Joke. "They're my class. Please be kind."

The boy with the spiky black hair started shaking the hands of her classmates while introducing himself happily as Shindo. She quietly watched as he got closer to her side of the group, and she felt the obligation to hold her hand up for a shake. He took her hand in his and smiled at her with eyes that looked very cheerful… so cheerful that it made narrow her eyes a little in confusion.

"You must be Hyoumei!"

"Yeah…"

He started talking to her, but she wasn't really listening. He was acting very cheerful, and that was somehow making her feel like something was off with this guy. The more she thought about it, the more she felt like she had seen this person before. Shindo seemed too familiar…

 _No, he's similar to someone I know…_

It was brief, but an image of Byakuren's face flashed in her mind.

She recoiled her hand away from his, looking at him dead in the eyes and then proceeded to wipe her hand on the side of her pants.

"Huh?" Shindo blinked

"Mizuha!" Kirishima gaped.

Kaminari nudged her arm with his elbow while looking at her with an expression of disbelief.

The girl glanced behind her and found Bakugo standing right behind her. She took a step back and literally hid half her body behind the bomber while scowling at Shindo.

"He reminds me of Byakuren…" she motioned her chin toward Shindo. "Mocking us right in front of our faces."

Bakugo scoffed and brushed away Shindo's hand when he tried to reach for his. "Exactly, stop pretending. What you're saying doesn't match the look on your face!"

"Okay, both of you are being rude!" Kirishima said before apologizing in their stead.

 _That's another candidate I'm staying the hell away from. I don't know what this guy is planning._

Just then a classmate of Shindo's dropped a hand on his shoulder.

"Now, now… let's give them some space."

Mizuha's eyes first landed on the hand and then moved up along the arm to reach the owner's face.

Her onyx orbs widened and she hid her entire body behind Bakugo.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing?!" The ash blond haired boy snapped when he felt her holding onto his bag to keep him still while pressing her forehead on his back.

She squeeze her eyes shut.

 _I wasn't prepared for this!_

Byakuren gasped in surprise and beamed a happy smile.

"Shu!"

The tall maroon haired boy smiled a content smile that reached his purple eyes.

"Hey, you two, how have you been?"

* * *

 **Back in Book I: Aloof Hero, I said that Shu's Quirk was Psychometry. But I just realized that his Quirk wouldn't be enough for someone taking the Exam. So, I'll have to change that.**

 **Anyway, BNHA Season 4 starts tomorrow! LET'S GOOOOOO!**


	20. Chapter 20: Provisional License Exam I

Shu peeked over Bakugo's shoulder and grinned down at Mizuha.

"Why are you hiding from me?" he asked innocently.

Bakugo finally freed himself by yanking his bag away from her fingers, leaving her exposed to Shu.

It was childish, she knew that. However, she just didn't want to see him despite already talking on the phone with him. It was just so… awkward.

She held a handful of her uniform in her hands and timidly peeked through her bangs to finally Shu clearly. Her old friend was smiling at her, obviously not sharing the same feeling of awkwardness as her.

Kaminari looked back and forth between the two and pointed at Mizuha, "You know this guy?"

Shindo was also curiously looking at this classmate.

Mizuha glanced at Kaminari and was about to answer his question, until a certain white haired boy interrupted her, looking just as cheerful as Shindo was.

"Hey, man! It's been a long time!" Byakuren said while waving his hand for a brief second before lowering it back down to his side, "I haven't seen you since you graduated from elementary school!"

"I can't say the same for you guys, I've recently seen you on TV." Shu chuckled.

"We don't have time for you to catch up." Aizawa cut in. "Everyone, go change into your costumes and go to the orientation." he turned around and started leading the way. "Stop wasting time."

Class 1-A followed after their teacher obediently. Mizuha nodded her head in Shu's direction before scampering off to the front of her crowd, arriving next to Ashido.

The pink haired girl narrowed her eyes a bit and puffed her cheeks out. "What is it with you and having friends that are good looking?!" she whispered.

"What are you talking about?"

"First, it was Byakuren… now you're telling me you know that hottie?!"

"Excuse me?!" Mizuha gaped and quickly looked over her shoulder to see if Shu could hear them. "I haven't seen that guy for five years! I didn't know how puberty treated him!"

"You're not denying that you know him." Sero pointed out.

"I knew him back in elementary school!"

Now that she was recalling that recent moment… Ashido was right. Mizuha wasn't blind (up until now). She could see it. Shu actually grew up and looked like a damn ikemen. When she thought back to the _good_ memories of elementary school, she remembered that Shu was… well, not ugly. He had a nice face.

 _Wait._

Mizuha then slapped her forehead, earning a wince from Ashido.

"Oh my god… I just realized… I acted like a totally idiot."

"Yeah, no shit." Bakugo passed by.

"Shut up!" Mizuha yanked on his hair.

He whirled around and tried grabbing her with a shout.

* * *

Mizuha looked at her surroundings, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the crowd of candidates. And, she may or may not be on the look out for Shu...

Byakuren noticed her owl-like behavior, watching her turn her head back in forth in 180 degrees. This was the second time this year that he was seeing her be like this. The first time was back when the media so rudely trespassed onto U.A.'s campus.

He didn't bother asking her about it as he approached her. He instead put his arm around her and lowered his head next to hers.

Mizuha felt Byakuren's hair tickle her cheek. Curiously, she slightly looked at him and let out a small hum, one that only he could hear among the talking mass of students, showing that she was asking him why he decided to drape himself on her shoulders.

"You wanna work together if we can?" he asked her quietly, purposely keeping his question away from his classmates' ears.

As much as he believed that his friends have improved, he knew his teamwork was at its best when it was with Mizuha.

"I was going to ask you that." she mused.

"Well then, let's do that Provisional License thing..." a tired voice spoke.

Byakuren removed his arm from his friend and straightened up.

"I'm Mera from the Heroes Public Safety Commission. The kind of sleep I like is non-REM sleep... It's a pleasure. I've been so busy that I haven't gotten much sleep... We're too short-staffed... I'm so sleepy! With that conviction, I will explain how the exam will be conducted."

Mizuha furrowed her eyebrows.

Byakuren's eyebrows rose and he looked at something else.

"About the content of the Provisional License thing... Frankly, all 1540 examinees here will have to win through a free-for-all exercise! Our society is currently said to be saturated with Heroes, and ever since Stain was arrested, many have sown doubts about the current state of Heroes. The idea that Heroes shouldn't seek compensation, and that the title should be given to those who sacrifice themselves. But, well, as a private citizen, no matter what the motivation, to tell someone risking their lives to save others not to seek any reward is... It's the ruthless story of these modern times... But, anyway, whether it's for compensation or for loyalty and courage... the result of many Heroes working hard together to help people and defeat villains is that right now, the time from when an incident begins to when it is resolved is so short that it'd make you sick."

Mizuha scratched her cheek with her finger, looking immensely bored.

 _Can't he just say what we have to do already?_

"You all are about to receive your Provisional Licenses and finally throw yourselves into those rapids. Those who can't keep up with that speed will frankly have it tough. Accordingly, what you'll be tested on is speed!"

Mizuha's eyebrows shot up when something appeared on the screen.

"Only the first... hundred examinees... will fulfill the requirements to pass...?!" Mizuha muttered to herself.

 _Well, that's not good. That's like six percent of all 1540 people here. They must really be fishing out the most capable ones with this test._

Mera pulled out a device and an orange ball for everyone to see. "Here are the requirements. The examinee will put three of these targets on his or her body. They can go anywhere as long as it's an exposed area. They can go anywhere as long as it's an exposed area. You can't put them on the soles of your feet or in your armpits. In addition, each of you will carry six of these balls with you. The targets are built to respond only to contact with the balls. The targets are made to only light up if they're hit by these balls, and if all three of your targets light up, then you're out. The person who lights up your third target will be considered as the person who takes you down. You get through this round by defeating two people. That's it for the rules."

If this was a test of speed, then the answer was obvious to Byakuren. He _needed_ to team up with Mizuha. He already knew for a fact that the whole world was aware of U.A.'s abilities. It was broadcasted on television. If he were to use Boreas with his classmates around, then he was going to be concerned about getting them caught in it. The same thing applied for Mizuha for Total White-Out and Dragon Rush.

If they weren't going to hold back, then they shouldn't fight side-by-side with their class.

"After we open, we'll pass out the targets and balls, and then the exam will commence one minute after we've gotten to everyone." announced the examiner.

"...'open'?" Mizuha repeated. "What does he mean by that?" she whispered to Todoroki.

He looked at her and shrugged.

The answer to her question was immediate. The room everyone was standing in began to shake. Mizuha looked around and saw that everyone was just as confused as she was. Then, light began pouring inside, seemingly from above. She squinted her eyes when she looked up, witnessing the room's walls falling apart and opening like a box. She nearly lost her footing when the walls dented the ground.

They were all surrounded by different types of terrain, reminding her of USJ. Urban-like structures, rocky terrain, a big forest with a lake— the place was so damn huge.

"I believe you all have types of terrain you like and dislike. Use your Quirks well and do your best." concluded Mera tiredly, barely keeping himself upright. "Anyway, we arranged for the terrain to be announced like that… But yeah, it's unnecessary. It's because of this that my sleep was..."

Mizuha and Byakuren were quick to place their targets on their body and put away the six balls that were given to them. Mizuha placed all her targets on the front of her body since she didn't exactly have eyes behind her back. She stuck one target on her right pectoral, another on the left and the last one on her right thigh. Byakuren placed two on his left side, one on his shoulder and the second on his left pectoral. The last one was placed on the right side of his lower back. He wasn't too worried about the vulnerability of that one.

"Everyone, don't get too separated! Let's move as a group!"

The white haired boy looked at his friend and nodded, holding out his hand to her. Mizuha firmly grabbed his hand, and they were both lifted off the ground with Byakuren's Quirk.

"Kyouran, Hyoumei! Wait!" Midoriya tried to stop them.

His call fell on deaf ears as the fast wind blowing against them tuned out any other sounds besides their own voices.

"If we get to an area before anyone else, we can plan ahead!" Byakuren spoke, loudly.

"Yeah, okay!"

* * *

"Done?"

Mizuha jogged back to their spot while nodding her head.

Right after they landed, Byakuren immediately urged her to set up water traps around the area while it was still deserted. She left puddles of water, each one set at a good distance away from the other. She even sent a wave of water crashing down, filling a whole street with a flood of water.

With her heat detectors, she saw that three large crowds were zeroing in on them, obviously they saw them when they were flying earlier. If Mizuha had to guess, they were going to be surrounded by three whole classes.

Fantastic.

"How's it look?" Byakuren whispered.

"… Most of them are wary of the water… the rest are just walking through it like as if it was part of the terrain."

She nearly laughed at their naiveté.

Byakuren's plan was simple. He purposely gave away their choice of terrain, knowing full well that U.A students were going to be targeted first. That was something they couldn't change. Then they would just have to deal with the people coming after them and manage their numbers. If there were too many, they would needed to separate them and from the others and use whatever time they had while they were trapped to defeat the required number of people. Byakuren and Mizuha would both act as a diversion, leading away their own group. Obviously, Mizuha was going to be better at trapping people since her Quirk had the ability to do so. Byakuren would just have to avoid getting hit by the balls and protect himself with wind barriers.

 **"First test, START!"**

Instantly, Byakuren shot up in the air with a gust of wind and revealed himself to his adversaries. The sound of his wind caught everyone's attention. He swooped down, flying closer to the ground, spinning around as numerous balls were aimed in his direction. He nearly got caught by someone using vines.

Mizuha crouched the to the wall and saw numerous figures containing heat run after her friend. She heard the sloshing of her water as students ran through it. She counted a few seconds, letting more students run into her trap, before freezing it completely. This immediately stopped those who weren't caught.

Mizuha purposely stepped out of the shadows and revealed herself.

…

Byakuren heard the surprised gasp and yells, indicating that they were caught in their tracks. In mid air, he flipped back to turn the other way and dived down once more. As he predicted, many students started darting into the alleyway, hunting down his friend. The rest that were left behind were stuck in the ice, frozen up to their knees. Some of them broke free and started throwing attacks in his way which he avoided by moving side to side.

His eyes locked on a girl with cat ears and took out a ball, grinning as he flew towards her. He stopped flying to her when a fire wall rose up in front of her.

 _Tch, fire. Not good. It's going to melt the ice._

With a ball of wind, he quickly made a way through the fire and went through. He landed on the ice with uneasy footing and immediately created a wall of wind, blocking out any interference between him and the cat girl.

The wind was strong enough to cut any material like attacks that were aimed towards him.

He smirked and approached the girl who tried clawing at him with gloves that had long claws, hissing at him.

He gave her a fox smile and forced her wrists to come together with a small tornado around them, bounding them together.

"Don't mind me." he said as he touched one target on her shoulder.

"… what the hell… on TV you looked like you couldn't handle using your Quirk too much!" she said while trying to move away from him, which proved to be difficult considering how she was frozen in place.

Byakuren laughed, "Come now, you didn't really think we'd be sitting around picking daisies, did you?" he hit another.

Then she was eliminated.

…

Mizuha, who was spotted by a few students, was running through the alley ways that the terrain provided.

A boy with a mask appeared in front of her.

"Is running all you can do?!" he asked, shooting strings from his fingers.

Mizuha boosted herself up with a spring in her step and stepped on the wall on her right. The strings shot past her, missing her. Then, she dropped down on the masked student, stepping on his shoulder and pushing him inside the alley way as she jumped off him. The others stopped when their classmate came stumbling in their direction. She landed on the ground and instantly used her Quirk. It was too fast for them to react, an ice dragon appeared in front of them with Mizuha on top of its head, her ice was baring its teeth, scaring them a little. It touched the ground, flew up and hit the alley way's walls, leaving a wall of ice behind it.

The shadow that the ice was casting above them started covering them all.

"What is she doing?!"

"She's trapping us!"

 _That's gotta be at least twenty-five students in there._

Mizuha created a ramp of ice and hopped off the dragon's head.

With a loud thud, the attack stopped when she sealed away all the exits with her ice.

"Someone break it down!"

 _I'll be gone before you do and the ice is pretty dense too. Good luck._

Mizuha ran back to where she froze the students going after Byakuren, turning on the heat detector on her visor. When she saw the figures radiating heat move around freely, she cursed out loud, annoyed.

 _A heat-based Quirk huh?_

 **"There's still a stalemate in all quarters… No one has passed yet."**

 _It's the sleepy guy's voice._

 **"Oh, when we get any reports, I will announce them all from this broadcasting area."**

When she made it back to the street where she set her traps, two students spotted her.

"It's U.A!"

With a swing of her arm, she sent a stream of steam whooshing into the streets.

 _Total White-Out it is then._

…

Byakuren side-stepped to the side as a tall boy tried to reach him with snake arms. He was having a mini-showdown with a guy on a roof.

 _That's just creepy._

"Don't lose your focus!" A girl snarled from behind.

Byakuren scoffed, "Of course not." his wind propelled him in the air, turning him upside down, allowing him to witness the two students bump into each other.

 _Which one should I take out?_

 _The snake guy or the girl with that staff?_

He moved away from the snakes that reached for him, hissing at him.

 _Yeeah... I rather not deal with snakes._

Byakuren then froze as he saw something approaching in the distance. He turned himself upright when he saw that it was a person… who was literally flying their way to the terrain.

"Fuck. Not good." Byakuren looked down and searched for any sign for his friend.

He let out a sound of frustration when he saw all the steam she unleashed.

…

Mizuha suddenly felt the earth shake beneath her boots, but it didn't stop her from moving. It felt like it didn't come from anyone nearby. It must have been someone's Quirk from another terrain. When she found herself in a good position, she stopped all her movements to not give herself away.

Some students were blindly swinging around to try and find her while others were trying to get out of the steam.

She found a silhouette standing a little far away from the others. Without hesitation, she lunged at the person and shoved her elbow into their stomach. It was a girl. She gasped as the air was knocked out of her lungs. It felt so much like she was a on a stealth mission. She covered the girl's mouth with her hand and prevented her from speaking as she tried to wriggle free. Mizuha pinned her down on the ground and froze her stuck to it. She dissipated the cloud of steam in front of her just so she could see the targets on the girl's body.

She successfully hit the three targets, setting all targets red.

The ice trapping the girl melted away and Mizuha moved away from her, having no use for her now that she claimed her defeat on the girl. Suddenly, powerful wind pushed away all the steam, making Mizuha curse once more. She was left exposed and she was literally surrounded by a dozen of people. The students who were previously caught in her ice prison caught up to her.

Great.

Before anyone could make a move, Byakuren swooped down and grabbed her under her arms, lifting her away from the ground.

"Byakuren! What gives?! I didn't get my second one!"

"Forget about that right now! That guy from Shiketsu High School is here!"

Mizuha jerked in his hold, "Oh for fuck's sake!"

 _That guy just had to come and ruin the plan!_

Byakuren flew next to a nearby window and pushed up Mizuha with his Quirk to the point where both her feet were facing it. Understanding his intention, she reeled back her legs and kicked into the glass, flinching as the glass shattered. They both tumbled inside and backed away from the window.

Recalling what was said before the orientation, Mizuha didn't waste a second in covering the hole with a layer of ice. She didn't know if this guy can somehow direct the ball into the building to hit them if saw them.

 _A recommended student isn't what we should be facing here, especially if we don't know anything about his Quirk._

She tapped Byakuren's shoulder and motioned him to follow after her.

They ran further inside the building and looked for another room that had a window, wanting to at least see what was going to happen next.

What they saw surprised them, many orange balls were flying upward as if they were being sucked up into a single point. They leaned closer to the window and peered up, and then they spotted him. Inasa Yoarashi was holding up his arm, controlling the window around him and making the balls fly around him.

"Look at that… he took away all the balls from the other students." Byakuren muttered.

Mizuha looked down.

 _Not many of them are running away, just a few. What? Are they too shocked to move or something?_

Yoarashi leaned back.

"Please let me join in your passionate fighting!"

Byakuren cringed. "Oh geez, if they don't move…"

"I'm looking…" he bowed down deeply, "FORWARD TO IT!"

Mizuha almost felt like a ball was going to fly into her face as she watched them rain down mercilessly. The two couldn't do anything but just watch safely from inside the building.

 **"Oh, finally, someone passed…"**

Byakuren scowled, "That's more than just passed… this guy is crazy."

Mizuha crouched down and placed her hands on the window sill with a frown. "… And he's the first guy to pass? Seriously?"

 **"WHAT?! Th-There were 120 people taken out?! A single person took out 120 people and passed!"**

The white-haired boy looked at the platinum blond haired girl with a frown, "Well, at least it's guaranteed that he's no longer a threat to us." he looked down and saw many red lights inside the dark smoke, "Let's hope there are survivors..."

 **"Um, well, I'm so surprised that I'm awake now. It looks like they'll just keep coming now. Everyone, please do your best as quickly as possible."**

Byakuren placed his gloved hand on the window and shattered it, letting the glass shards fall down that were most likely falling on some students. However, he was nice enough to blow away the glass on to the other building, right next to Yoarashi. He didn't want to risk getting a student injured below them. For all he knew, someone could be on their back with their eyes open. The thought alone made him wince.

The Shiketsu student looked at the glass that was transported next to him with wind, and then he looked at building where it came from. He spotted two students climbing out of it through the broken window. Mizuha grabbed the hand that was held out to her and planted her feet on the window sill next to Byakuren. The white haired boy firmly held her hand and looked in Yoarashi's direction, he gave him a close eyed smile.

"Oh! A U.A. student who also uses wind!" he said excitedly, pointing at him.

Byakuren's smile dropped from his face and he shot the student an annoyed look, eyes and face darkened by his bangs. A string of curses were going through his mind as his free hand shook in a fist. Mizuha sensed the aura coming from her dear friend and squeezed his hand... hard. Byakuren flinched and he shot his friend an annoyed look. Mizuha rolled her eyes and nudged his side with her arm. He shook his head to push away the dark thoughts he was having. His body tilt forward and fell down into the smoke, pulling along his friend with him.

Byakuren had the bad habit of mentally freaking out when things weren't going as he had planned. He was trying to find some methods that would help him calm down and not freak out. Apparently, his test with the principal when he was paired with Ashido left a sore spot, and he wanted to improve on that. He wanted to avoid getting distracted and stressed.

So, instead, he decided to get really angry.

That somehow helped him calm down since his mind wasn't going haywire like when he panicked. It actually got him more determined to fix the mess.

Strong wind blew away the smoke and unveiled all the students below. Many were eliminated, but thankfully there were still people who didn't have all their targets touched. Those who were more at risk since they only had one target left went into hiding to take some cover, hoping to try and catch the two off guard.

Mizuha and Byakuren were going to be going after the survivors who didn't run.

Before they could slam and break their legs, zephyr flew around them and gently set them on the pavement.

The moment they let go of each other, they darted to the closest person who was still in the test.

Byakuren went after a guy carrying a metal shield on his right forearm. Still a little shaken up from his plan getting ruined, he was being a little reckless while charging. The fact that a ball touched one of his targets didn't seem to phase him at all when he reached the other male student. He had two more chances, the other guy had one. He was surprised he didn't choose to run with the others. The metal shield suddenly had a pole extend from it, darting in his direction and towards his face. The white haired boy immediately bent his body backwards, watching the pole shoot past his eyes. Noticing that the pole was still attached to the metal shield, Byakuren side stepped and grabbed onto the length. He nimbly pushed himself up, landing onto the pole, hard.

His weight made the other guy's arm drop.

Hearing the frantic footsteps behind him, he growled and jumped off the pole just in time to avoid several balls aimed at his back. They were part of the group that went to hide.

He extended his arm and aimed it at the five students that were attacking him.

There was a slight tremor as the wind built up in his hand.

 _"Boreas!"_

He released all his power in their direction. A tornado came raging into their direction, catching all five of them and sending them flying into the air, there was a lot of screaming as they were violently being thrown around and getting hurt by the sharp gales. Byakuren ignored them since he knew that they wouldn't die from his attack. If anything, their screams were improving his sour mood. Once he made sure they would get the message to not interfere, he dropped them on the roof of on the same building he and Mizuha took refuge in.

As soon as his attack died down, he delved into his pocket and turned around. He threw the ball at the exposed target on the guy's knee, but not without getting another target on his body hit as well.

The guy with the shield cursed, "B-Bastard…!"

The white haired boy only rolled his eyes and turned away.

A wall of ice was put up.

…

Mizuha jumped away from the huge chains that slammed the spot she was just standing in. They broke the ground. The guy she was fighting was able to change the shape of the metal he was carrying. Her eyes eyed the pouches around his belt. The last time he opened one, he took out a block of metal and added it to his current weapon. It made her think of clay.

Her eyes flickered to the ice wall she put up. She left it there to block away any surviving candidates, and it served as an extension for her ice.

 _I tried catching this guy with ice, but he just shattered it with a damn hammer._

 _Steam is out of the question since it's practically harmless._

 _So, I need to use water..._

The metal-guy transformed his chains into a long staff and swung it in Mizuha's direction. Despite its size, he seemed pretty capable of swinging it around.

 _He's got two targets in front, and I don't see the last one. It's probably on his back..._

 _In that case..._

Mizuha ducked and charged ahead, throwing two high-pressured spheres at his body, each sphere hiding an orange ball inside. The first one was aimed for the one on his thigh and then threw another at the one placed in the center of his chest. He pulled out another block of metal and turned it into a shield, and then he blocked one at a time. The water only made him move back a little as it collided, and the balls rolled on the ground harmlessly.

His sight was currently blocked by the obstructing shield.

"Mistake." she chuckled.

She placed a single hand on the surface of the pole while he couldn't see her. The ice flowed from her fingertips and her palm, traveling across the surface of the pole until it touched his hand. When he sensed the cold nipping at his fingers, he pulled down the shield and was just in time to see the ice encasing his entire arm.

"Wh-What?!"

She appeared in front of him and kicked away his shield before swiftly touching his waist, specifically his belt. From the point of contact, ice started running across the leather of his belt, and freezing the pouches that carried his metal. She stepped away from him and looked at his face, he looked shocked and a little flustered. He found himself unable to move since she also froze his feet to the ground.

She lifted up her arm and opened her palm, a water saucer formed in her palm and grew in size. Just like the water spheres, they were high pressured. She swung her arm to her left and broke the metal pole into two just in case he was able to still manipulate the shape. She figured the less amount of metal he had with him, the less chances he would have to strike her hard.

He only had one of his targets hit from Inasa's merciless assault, and it was the one on his back.

She took out a ball and pressed it against the target on his thigh.

Her white haired friend flew over the ice wall and checked on the situation on the other side. It seemed like she was handling things well.

"Mizu-chan~"

Mizuha looked up curiously.

"I'm done!" he said cheerfully while gesturing to the blue light on his targets.

"I'm almost done too!" she grinned at him.

He gave her a thumbs up.

The eyes of the boy she froze widened as he stared at something behind her, "Something is coming…" he muttered.

"MIZUHA! BEHIND YOU!"

She was slow.

Something hot and hard struck from behind and she stumbled forward, reaching hand behind her to rub the spot that was hit. She glanced behind her and saw remnants of fire disappearing, and an orange ball was rolling away on the pavement.

 _Fucking hell that burns! And I don't even have a target on my back!_

Then, her ice wall shattered as a fireball came crashing down... towards her. Her eyes widened in shock as a red haired boy from Shiketsu emerged from the fire with a ball in his hand. He threw it at her but she created a water veil to slow it down, it fell on her head but it didn't hurt. Through the water, she watched him accelerate his fall with fire and land a few feet away from her. He pulled out another ball from his pocket and practically lunged at her like a feral lion.

 _Holy shit! What a damn savage... he looks like he wants to kill me! WHAT THE HELL?!_

 _"Aqua Protection!"_

A torrent of water surrounded her being, which isolated her and the metal user. Even though her sympathetic nervous system was activated, she kept in mind the danger she could have imposed on the guy she was about to defeat. Her high-pressure water could hurt him.

With a frantic hand, she touched the last target and then ceased her Quirk. She was finally done. As the water died down, she let out a relief sigh, but then it was immediately replaced by a surprised cry. The boy was in front of her, face to face, a ball in hand and ready to hit her.

Just as the ball was about to connect with her target—

 ** _"Those who have passed should go to the anteroom. Quickly now."_**

He stopped. Silver eyes were surprised and they reflected the surprise in onyx ones. He pulled himself away from her and stood up straight, still looking at her. The stillness between them helped calm her down. Then irritation started to bubble up inside of her. What was his deal? He came after her even though she passed?

She narrowed her eyes at him.

Byakuren was irked when dropped down next to her, and he held up a hand questioningly. "What gives? Can't you see she already passed test? Why'd you still go after her?"

The wine colored haired boy only rolled his eyes. "I didn't know."

 _It might be just me, but I'm catching a whiff of bullshit_ , Mizuha thought while mentally picturing herself throwing an ice brick at this guy's face.

Even if he could not see her, he should have known that she finished the first test. The metal user only had a single target left, and the duration of Aqua Protection was long enough for her to touch it with her ball. Otherwise, why else would she stop her attack without trying to push him away?! She didn't understand.

Byakuren's eye twitched. "Maybe if you looked at this guy," he pointed at the still frozen student. All his targets were lit red and a voice that was coming from the targets was telling him that he was defeated. "then you would have known."

The Shiketsu student didn't say anything else. He turned away and picked up the two balls he previously threw at Mizuha, and walked away without another word. They watched as he picked up his pace and then flew off in a fireball.

Mizuha scoffed. "I bet he did that shit on purpose." she muttered lowly before turning her attention to the boy she froze; she melted the ice away and watched as it evaporated.

Sure, she was thinking negatively but she really found it hard not to. Now that she thought about it, the lights on her targets did take a few seconds to tell her she was done…

She mentally screamed.

 _Ahrg! I don't know!_

Once he was able to move, he averted his eyes away timidly and started walking away from the two friends.

Byakuren tilted his head to the side, wondering what was up with that one. He looked at the girl next to him but he found her looking at him just as confused.

"Should I have said sorry?"

"For what? Passing your test?"

"… I guess not."

Just as the voice instructed, they hurriedly left the terrain together. Those who were still in the test recognized them as U.A. students and tried to come after them, that is until they noticed that they already passed the test. Byakuren would give them a close eyed smile and wave at them mockingly while Mizuha only lazily looked at the others with her hood on.

* * *

 **I really enjoyed writing Byakuren and Mizuha here. The last time I was able to write the two of them working together was back in Aloof Hero... and boy did I enjoy it.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I'm looking forward to your reviews!**


	21. Chapter 21: Provisional License Exam II

When Mizuha and Byakuren entered the anteroom, a lot of students who passed their first test were all talking amongst themselves while eating food that the room offered them while waiting. They were told by a random student who was passing by that the key to remove their targets was nearby by. The two removed their targets and returned the balls they still had on them into a big box that already had many at the bottom. Figuring that getting some food in their system would be a major help to prepare for what came next, the started walking further into the anteroom where the closest table with snacks were.

When she looked past the food on the table she was walking to, she saw spotted a two familiar colors. Her eyes looked carefully until she finally realized what she was seeing. Todoroki was sitting down far away and he was looking at the screen displaying the situation outside. He looked away for a brief moment and set his eyes in front of him, he was about to look back at the screen until he noticed her and Byakuren. She started smiling at the sight of him, glad to see another face from her class that passed the first test. When he smiled a little, she picked up her pace and moved away from Byakuren so she could go over and ask how did things go for him.

Todoroki's smile dropped and he looked a little surprised by what happened. Mizuha stumbled back and was walking backwards for a moment when Byakuren pulled her hood, dragging her along with him. The reason for this sudden action was because Shu happened to be standing at another table. He called their names (which Mizuha didn't hear) and waved at Byakuren when he was noticed.

Escaping from Byakuren was futile. He had an iron grip on her arm when she walked properly.

When they reached the table, Mizuha spotted a tray of cookies and was already munching on them. Was she nervous? Hell yes. The prickly sensation on her arms was proof enough. She continued munching quietly as they talked.

"So, you guys weren't caught by my school because you two went off on your own?"

Byakuren smirked smugly, "Yep, and we passed thanks to my brilliant strategy." he said, flamboyantly.

If Mizuha was paying attention properly, Shu was saying that Ketsubutsu Academy had a rival relationship with U.A. It was almost like a tradition to go after the students from her school during the Provisional License Exam. Good thing they didn't stick around. She wanted to keep away from that Shindo guy. That Byakuren 2.0.

"You didn't join your class on the hunt?" Byakuren chewed on a cookie.

Shu shook his head. "I would, but this was a test of speed, and with my Quirk, I didn't need to." he looked at Mizuha, "You must be familiar with one of the properties of our Quirk."

Mizuha swallowed down the cookie. "… 'Our'?" she tilted her head before realization crossed her features. "Oh, you mean you and Mokuen?"

He nodded.

"Hikari and I can use light's properties and turn it into a weapon when needed. She didn't attack you with her Quirk though because she wasn't good at manipulating light into projectiles back then."

Byakuren dropped a fist in his open palm. "No wonder she moved so fast when they fought each other. I thought she had some teleportation Quirk or something."

The second year only chuckled in amusement, "No, we're just fast."

"We probably could have finished quicker if it weren't for," Byakuren looked around and then discreetly pointed at Yoarashi, who was talking with a random student, and scowled, "that guy over there. He's the one who eliminated 120 people in one attack."

Shu didn't stare too long at the giant first year so he wouldn't catch his attention. "But everything went smoothly after he left?"

Byakuren shrugged and sipped some water, "I guess. We just went after those who were still in the test." he lowered his plastic cup, "That reminds me. There was this odd ball that looked flustered when Mizuha defeated him. He was being all timid and walked away."

Byakuren imitated the way he walked off.

Shu looked at Mizuha and grinned, "Maybe he liked you?"

This made Mizuha scoff before laughing lightly, "No way. That's not possible. No one would like me."

Byakuren shot her a look. "Must you be so negative?"

"My negativity doesn't have to do anything with you."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes it does, I'm with you all the time. I could get gloomy."

"That would be a sight. A hunching spiky marshmallow hissing at the sunlight."

"I said gloomy. Not vampire."

"… Same shit."

"Seriously?"

Shu laughed at their exchange and shaked his head as he ripped off a piece of his bread. "Good to see that you're as close as ever." he said before sliding the bread into his mouth. "Have you always been together since elementary school?"

Even if the school didn't place them in the same class, Mizuha and Byakuren were always found together. He did make some friends in his other class but he didn't have solid friendships since they easily dropped him after he hung out too much with Mizuha. Not that he minded, he had good friends from elementary school that were still in contact with him. It seemed like his solid friendships were the ones he made back in elementary school. Today was different though, he's made more friends in high school.

"She's always been running away from things before the Sports Festival," Byakuren said while glancing at the screen above. "Someone needed to be there to support her when things were tough because she didn't want to seek help for herself. And I just didn't have the heart to just abandon her either."

Hearing Byakuren say those words made Mizuha remember the moments where they were together. He was there to hold her hand and support her, but he also knew when to let go. He knew when he needed to push her forward. He always was there for her when she needed it. The argument they had was the biggest push so far. Of course, she was there for him too. She just wished that he would have more troubles so that she could somehow feel like she could help him as much as he helped her. However, not having any troubles at all was also good.

Mizuha smiled fondly, "Yep, and that's why you're precious to me."

Byakuren grins.

"Well, I'm glad you had faithful supporter during those five years."

Shu approached her and placed a hand on her head, smiling charmingly. The pad of his thumb went through her bangs and brushed her forehead. Mizuha stared at Shu oddly, she remembered this gesture. But why was he doing that now?! Mizuha lightly tilted her head back as an indication the gesture was a little too much. Surprised by his own actions, Shu's hand flew off her head like as if it got burned. It was quiet. Byakuren's light purple eyes darted between them, and then he cleared his throat to ease the atmosphere around him.

The maroon haired boy smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, sorry. Old habit. I wanted to try it at least one more time." he laughed it off.

Mizuha faked a grin and nodded, "Oh, okay." she said in a fake relieved tone.

She was a little weirded out, but she was going to believe what Shu was saying. Maybe it was just her?

The girl remembered about her friend who was sitting alone and turned her head to look at him. As if he sensed her gaze on him, he looked also looked at her. Mizuha brought her attention back to the two boys and started taking a few steps away while pointing at her classmate.

"I wanna go talk with Todoroki… soooo…"

Shu shoo'ed her away with her hand. "Go ahead. It's fine." assured the senior with another smile.

"I'll talk to you later when there's time!" she turned around, not waiting for some reply and went off to join her friend.

Byakuren casually sipped his water and watched her go. Her platinum blonde hair swayed behind her as she jogged to Todoroki. When she was out of earshot, he set down his water and reached for another cookie.

"I'm surprised you still like her."

Shu sighs, "No, I don't."

A smirk grew on the white haired boy's face, "I wonder how you weren't able to get over that crush of yours." he ignored the glare he was receiving from the older boy and simply bit a piece of his snack, "I'm guessing you just couldn't forget about her~"

The older Mokuen only rolled his eyes, "We were kids. Big deal, I had a crush on her, but guess what? I don't, today."

"So, you will tomorrow?" he teased cheekily.

"Damn it, Byakuren—!" Shu was about to say something else but then sighed, not wanting to continue a pointless conversation about his love life. "I thought about her because I was worried. She was someone I worried about because I felt like I was indirectly at fault. I couldn't even offer my help back then."

The younger boy hummed and nodded his head.

Then he shrugged. "Y'know, you might have a chance. You got her number."

Shu groans and runs a hand across his face.

Byakuren grins, "Okay, okay! I'm really kidding."

The two were fairly close as children even if Shu was a grade higher. Things like secrets were often shared between them although trying to find out who was Shu's kiddie crush was a challenge. He had to trick him into saying it.

"But I don't need to worry anymore. She's alright now." Shu smiled to himself.

Byakuren stared at him, seeing the relief in his face.

"By the way," Byakuren remembered something, "whatever happened to the others?"

"Aah," Shu shoved his hands in his pockets, "I honestly have no idea about what happened to Akane, but I do know that Naomi and Kousuke are students in hero schools in different prefectures." He informed.

Byakuren pursed his lips while adjusting his glove, "Hmm, so they all moved on with no problem."

"Yep, the younger ones didn't really think about it the incident as much as I did."

"The older the wiser I guess."

Shu shot him a tired look, "I'm only a year older than you guys."

* * *

Mizuha dropped herself in the space next to Todoroki. She regretted that when she felt a sharp pain on her lower back. Heterochromia eyes saw the flash of pain across her face before it faded away completely.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"A bit but it's not a big deal." she replied while sighing. Her hand reached for the spot and she rubbed it delicately. "I had an encounter with a Shiketsu student… he hit me in the back with a literal fireball." she said with a scowl before lowering her hand to her side and shrugging. "But it's not something I can't deal with."

"I see."

 _I just know that it's going to leave a bruise._

"Anyway, how did things go for you? Did you stay with Midoriya and the others?"

"No," he shook his head, "I went off on my own after you and Kyouran left."

She looked at the other people in the room, "Were you one of the firsts then?"

"No, there was a lot of people when I came."

She nodded. Mizuha moved her head and looked in Byakuren's direction, she found him looking at her too. He only gave her a fox smile and waved with a cookie dangling in his mouth. She only rolled her eyes in response. Then, she looked at Shu and made eye contact with him. The maroon haired boy noticed her attention and smiled at her. Her initial response was to wave at him timidly, still feeling a little awkward but then she looked away while rubbing her arms with her sleeves.

Todoroki noticed her shy behaviour and looked at the person who was making her so. He didn't know this guy, but from what he gathered so far, he knew that both her and Kyouran knew this guy from elementary school. He wondered if she and that second year were as close like her and Kyouran. Hm. He didn't think so.

He looked at the space between them. Mizuha was rubbing her arm, brushing one of her arms against his own. At first, he thought the rubbing of the arm was a habit that accompanied her shy disposition. That is until he saw something red on her skin when the sleeve rose up high enough to expose her skin to his eyes. Was she hiding more injuries? What was that? ... Was she sick or something?

Todoroki gently reached his right hand for her right hand, stopping the action. He moved it away and then took her left hand and pushed up her sleeve with his free one. What he saw on her skin was no injury but it worried him nonetheless. Across her skin was redness. When he moved his hand to her wrist, her skin felt a little warmer. When she tried to pull away her arm, he only held her tighter to keep her from doing so.

"C-C'mon, Todoroki. Let go, it's fine…"

He looked at her and she saw the worry on his features, "Are you okay?" he asked once more, clearly more concerned than a few moments ago.

Mizuha looked around, feeling a little conscious about the people around her. She nodded her head, "Don't worry, I'm fine!"

He shot her a skeptical look, "Hyoumei."

He was asking for an explanation.

Mizuha stared at him. Yeah, he really wasn't going drop it and forget. She flickered her eyes away and stared at the floor while pursing her mouth.

"… My skin gets like this when I get super nervous. It's actually been like this since like… before the internship but I realized it DURING my internship though…"

His grip loosened, "You get like this when you're nervous?"

She gently pried his fingers away, "Weird, right?" she laughed lightly, "It's fine, it'll go away soon." she pulled down her sleeve to hide away her proof of anxiety.

"… You should really work on that."

Mizuha only pouted a little and didn't answer. Easier said than done.

For someone who was anxious, she seemed pretty laid back about it.

Todoroki offered his right hand. "Do you want me to cool it down?" he asked, wanting to help her if he could.

Mizuha blinked.

"U-Uh, no it's alright. It'll go away on its own." she turned down his offer, a little embarrassed about the idea.

But then she smiled bashfully, "But thanks anyway."

Todoroki stared at her for a moment and then blinked once before he nodded silently.

Now that he was close to her, he had to admit, she had a nice smile.

…

…

…

Byakuren was alone. Shu went to go find the bathroom, saying he drank a little too much water. The white haired boy looked up at the screen. More people were walking to the anteroom, and Mera was announcing the number of spots left every time a person cleared the test since the required 100 was slowly getting there.

His shoulders rolled back when he turned away from the screen.

He looked for Mizuha, and found her still with Todoroki.

He saw Mizuha's head falling forward and then catching itself before dropping too low. Ah, he knew that feeling. When he felt tired in class, especially during Midnight's class, his head would feel as heavy as a hammer's head and drop to the side, but he would catch himself and struggle to stay awake. Mizuha was doing exactly that. He chuckled to himself, knowing she must have been really bored if she's falling asleep during the Provisional License Exam.

After who knows how many times of dropping her head, she leaned her head back on the wall while throwing her hood on while her eyes were shut. She seemed to be for the idea of falling asleep right now. Byakuren felt like he needed to pay for watching. It was funny how in just a few minutes, her body already started leaning and falling to the right. Byakuren was nearly about to laugh seeing as she was about to wake from it and definitely look startled.

Todoroki put his hand under her head, causing her to wake her up from the sudden halt.

Mizuha sat upright sluggishly and said something to him, probably apologizing. He saw them exchange a few words that he couldn't make out from the distance. Todoroki was still talking to her as he moved back in his seat and sat against the backrest. Next thing he knew she was resting her hooded head on his shoulder and drifting off to sleep again. Now that was surprising. Normally, she was comfortable of doing something like that with him since he didn't mind. Perhaps Todoroki didn't mind it either, he simply glanced at her for a few seconds before returning his attention to the screen.

Byakuren shrugged and figured he could sit down too so he walked to their spot where an empty seat was found next to Mizuha. Todoroki noticed his presence.

"Kyouran—"

The white haired boy held up a finger up to his lips and grinned.

"Just let her sleep." he whispered before softly making sure not to jolt the chair as he sat down.

* * *

This time, when the door opened, she woke up to the sound. Shadowed by her hood, she squinted and moved her head to see what was going on. She didn't know how long it had been since she fell asleep, but now there was definitely a lot more people in the room. While yawning into her hand, she sat up properly and looked at Todoroki. Her hood had fallen off her head slowly from moving, revealing slightly disheveled hair in the back.

"Slept well?" asked the boy with his lips curling into a small grin.

She only nodded her head once while rubbing her eye with her index finger before smoothing down her hair in the back.

Todoroki's eyes dropped on her forearm which was revealed when she reached up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. To his relief, the color of her arm was back to normal.

"Did anyone from our class arrive yet?" She asked drowsily when she put down her hand.

"No, not yet. Maybe it was difficult with the others knowing about their Quirks."

Mizuha looked in front of her and then her eyebrows rose, "You spoke too soon."

Todoroki also looked in front of him and they found Byakuren guiding Shoji, Tsuyu, Yaoyorzu and Jiro to them.

"Todoroki, you passed too!" Yaoyorozu said happily.

"Didn't expect any less." Tsuyu followed.

Byakuren dropped himself in the seat next to Mizuha and handed her a cup of water. It was just something to wake her up, she could use it since she was still in an exam and couldn't afford to be sleepy later on.

"Todoroki was the first to get here, then it was me and Mizuha." Byakuren explained while crossing his legs in his seat.

Shoji looked at the screen, "I see. Not yet, huh?"

"Weren't you all working together?" Todoroki asked.

Yaoyorozu shook her head, "We were all separated when someone from Ketsubutsu Academy used his Quirk."

Mizuha frowned and took a guess, "The guy that was shaking our hands?"

Jiro nodded, "Yeah, that guy."

Byakuren's eyes glanced at the number that indicated the number spots left.

"30 more, huh?"

Perhaps it was wishful thinking, but everyone was clinging to the hope that all of Class 1-A could pass together. No matter how impossible it seemed, they hoped for that possibility. Most of them were getting anxious for that possibility when more students from their class started joining them in the anteroom. Midoriya, Uraraka and Sero arrived inside with Bakugo, Kaminari and Kirishima. That was good, but not good for those who were still out there. With the number of spaces getting lower and lower, the chances of passing together was getting slimmer and slimmer.

 **"Okay, eight people just passed all at once!"**

"So, that makes ten more spots left…" Byakuren mumbled.

They were all staring at the screen, worried. It was showing the current chaos going on. All the candidates that were still trying to pass were all fighting among themselves in hurried manner. Mizuha frowned at the sight. They were losing their cool, panicking about the remaining spots, creating some type of war zone.

Mizuha turned her attention to the door that opened. It was the eight students that passed. She immediately recognized the excited girl from earlier, looking clearly happy about passing.

 _And it's Ketsubutsu Academy… led by Mister Cool Face._

Shu was quick to greet them.

 **"Two more have passed! Eight left!"**

Mizuha looked back at the screen. To her surprise, she saw the rest of her class gathered together defeating the other candidates. She was definitely taken back by the outcome. There were only nine students left in their class and every single one of them were able to get a spot in the required hundred.

 **"One hundred people! All spots just filled up! We're done! Finished! HAHHHHH!"**

Kaminari and Kirishima were the first to celebrate, shouting out loud and throwing their fists in the air.

"Everyone in U.A. passed the first test!" Uraraka exclaimed proudly and happily.

Byakuren whistled, impressed. "I seriously thought the rest of the nine weren't going to make it…"

Having their entire class was their victory.

 **"And now, unfortunately, those who failed will have to withdraw. Everyone, please leave promptly."**

Those who didn't pass did as they were told and those who passed joined the rest of the examinees in the anteroom. Iida, Aoyama, Ojiro, Koda, Ashido, Mineta, Hagakure and Sato, all joined their class who was praising them. They all celebrated their success together. This brought a little smile on Mizuha's face, and instead of sitting down and observing the others like she always did, she got up and joined them for once.

…

…

…

 **"Well, for all hundred of you who passed the first test, please watch this."**

Byakuren blinked.

"Hey, that's the building we were hiding in." he recognized while pointing at the broken window.

"Oh, you're right." Mizuha said, "I wonder why—"

An explosion erupted from inside and the building started collapsing.

Both their jaws dropped.

Not just there, there was explosions all over the field, destroying all the terrain.

"WHY?!"

"How much money did they invest in this?!" Mizuha threw her hands up.

 **"The next test will be the last one. We will have you all perform rescue exercises as bystanders in this disaster site. We will assume that those of you who passed the first test have received your provisional licenses, and test how well you can carry out suitable rescue procedures."**

Shoji noticed something among the disaster and narrowed his eyes, "There are people in there."

"HUH?! Elderly and children?!" Sato exclaimed.

"That's so dangerous! What are they doing?!" freaked Mineta.

 **"They are people who have undergone training to be professional people-in-need-of-rescue and are in high demand right now. The 'Help Us Company' or 'H.U.C' for short!"**

Mizuha's eyes narrowed at the screen, "What the fuck…" she whispered. "That exists?! I thought Shiran was kidding me when he told me that!"

 **"The people from H.U.C have dressed up as injured victims and are on standby throughout the disaster site. We will now have you all carry out their rescue. In addition, we will score your rescue based on points, and if you the benchmark at the end of the exercises, then you pass. We will start in ten minutes, so please use the restroom and take of any other necessary business right now."**

* * *

"Seriously? You fell asleep?" Kirishima sweat dropped while holding a piece of bread.

Mizuha scratched the back of her head and shrugged, "I was a bit cold and I was bored when I got here. You add those two things together and I'll want to fall asleep."

Even with the cool water she drank to help her wake, she still felt a little drowsy. It was apparent in the way she was carrying herself. Her hands were in her jacket's pockets and she looked a little too relaxed with her slouching posture. She was even standing next to Bakugo and she didn't try to annoy him.

Kirishima poked her side and she jerked away.

"Carefree about this exam, aren't you?" he laughed.

"I never said I was!" Mizuha pouted and poked his bare side. He also jerked away and then moved away when she tried attacking him again.

"Aye, don't make me drop my food!" Kirishima moved around the table, passing by Bakugo, when she still came after him.

Feeling a little mischievous, she slowly approached the end of her side with a playful grin. Kirishima said her name cautiously, sensing her mood to play around. He looked behind her and saw a hairy student walking towards them.

"Shiketsu's headed our way."

Mizuha looked behind her. Indeed, Shiketsu was coming their way, including the twat that hit her. With a hidden scowl, she scampered over to the other side of the table and stood next to Kirishima.

"Excuse me, Bakugo?" the hairy student spoke up.

"Hah?"

"Did you see Shishikura— the guy whose eyes look like slits?"

Mizuha looked at the group behind him. Now that he mentioned it, she didn't see the purple haired guy who reprimanded Yoarashi. He must have failed.

"Yeah. I knocked him out." Bakugo replied, not really caring.

The older student sighed, "I knew it. I think he probably acted rudely. He must have caused offense. He has the tendency to impose his own values on others. He probably couldn't help himself after seeing you, since you're pretty famous. But I want to build a good relationship with U.A. So, I apologize on his behalf."

 _Good relationship, huh?_

Mizuha's eyes darted to the wine colored hair boy in the back, behind the hairy student. She discreetly turned her head away, showing the left side of her head to them. Her eyes peeked through her bangs that were hiding her eyes. She was staring at him.

First impressions were important, right? Then she already knew how she felt about that one.

She didn't like him.

The boy sighed deeply and slouched his shoulders. He then turned his head towards her, "Why the hell do you keep ogling me?!"

Her discreet attempt to stare didn't work.

Embarrassed, Mizuha stopped her stealthy-stare and just gaped at him, surprised from being caught.

The student that seem to represent Shiketsu, looked at the boy, "Ikari, don't shout."

Ikari pointed at her with a scowl, "She keeps looking at me like I did something wrong!"

For some reason, Mizuha didn't hold back her tongue like she usually did, she pointed back at him with her own scowl.

"That's because you did!" she retorted.

Now this was a surprise for Kirishima, he knew she didn't like attention unless she couldn't do anything about it. This was the first time he was seeing her retaliate verbally in irritation toward a stranger.

"Care to explain?" the Shiketsu representative looked between Ikari and Mizuha.

"This guy came after me even though I passed the test!"

Ikari only rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets.

Kirishima put a hand on her shoulder, "Maybe it was a misunderstanding? He thought you were still in the test?"

The big hairy student looked at Ikari, who was looking at something else defiantly, and asked him if he was aware that she passed or not. He didn't reply at first which was odd since when Byakuren asked him why he came after her, he was quick to say he didn't know she passed. This time, he was acting like he didn't care.

But then a smirk curled on his lips.

"Of course, I knew."

She blinked.

Then her eye twitched.

"The… FUCK?"

"Ikari, apologize to her."

The wine colored haired boy only shrugged, stepping forward and doing a mocking bow before her, and it wasn't just any bow. He bowed down to her with one arm on his chest and stomach. "I'm so deeply sorry." He said with a shit-eating grin, "I hope we could build a good relationship from now on." He repeated his representative's words with obviously less sincerity.

Someone from his school shot an arm out and pulled him away from the U.A. student before he could irritate her even more. Good choice. She wanted to throw the apple sitting on the table. Where? His lower back. No, actually, maybe his nose was a better choice.

"He's a difficult one. I apologize on his behalf as well, Hyoumei." he bowed down before turning around and walking away.

Bakugo and Kirishima watched as the Shiketsu students walked off before turning their attention on their classmate. She had a blank calm expression but the aura radiating off of her told a different story. Her hand reached for the cookie sitting on a plate. Then crushed it in her hand in an attempt to calm down. The poor snack didn't stand a chance against her suppressed wrath.

Bakugo scoffed, "You should have frozen his head."

Mizuha released her grip and let the broken cookie fall into the plate. "Wouldn't help if he uses fire, the jerk."

She was literally startled out of her irritation when Kirishima put his arm around her shoulders. Then he ruffled her hair to ease out the rest of the tension she was feeling. It worked. Now, she was reduced to being pouty.

He grinned, "No use in getting mad over it. You got more important things to focus on in a few minutes." said the red haired boy while poking her cheek.

She grabbed another cookie and started munching on it quietly.

Her friend laughed and removed himself from her, and then he patted her head.

"Good girl!"

Calming down took all her focus that she didn't even notice that someone from Shiketsu stayed behind, it was Yoarashi. And standing in front of the tall first year was Todoroki. Her left eyebrow rose up when she saw Yoarashi give him a dark look. What was his deal?

Obviously, from where she stood, the words Yoarashi was saying were not quite audible for her thanks to the talking and the distance between her and the two. Her eyes fell on the tall student's lips and tried reading it. She couldn't read the first words he was saying, but was somehow able to catch the last few words.

 _Same as Endeavor._

She saw Todoroki stiffened at that.

 _What was the same as Endeavor?_

Did Yoarashi have something against the current Number One Hero?

Before the gears in her mind could continue to turn, an alarm went off, blaring loudly in the anteroom. Mizuha took that as her cue to look back at the screen for any new information. Their 10 minutes of resting time was over, now they had to resume with the exam.

 **"Villains have begun a large-scale terrorist attack! This is occurring in all areas of the city, and due to buildings collapsing, there are many injured."**

Mizuha sighed and took one final sip of her water, all while being careful not to drink too much to avoid wanting to use the bathroom during the exam.

 _So, this is the scenario. Rescuing the injured and defending against Villains?_

Just like for the first test, the room they were standing in shook and opened up.

 **"Due to heavily damaged roads, the first group of rescue workers have been delayed! Until they arrive, the Heroes in the area will lead the rescue efforts. Save as many lives as you can."**

Mizuha stretched her arms.

 **"Well, then… START!"**

Mizuha started running with the others. All hundred of them were moving together until groups starting splitting up and going to different destroyed areas. Her eyes spotted students from different schools already working with one another. They already knew what to do. They had experience. This made her sweat a little. Her class did not have much experience in that field since they were too busy with gaining new strength. She was getting a little concerned for about her abilities in this test.

She did do a rescue when she was with Taishiro, but that was different from the current situation.

 _And this would also be a good test to see how well I work with other people… not just with Byakuren or my friends._

Yet, she was running with the others toward the urban areas. When she looked at her classmates, she noticed that a few were missing. Bakugo was missing along with Kirishima and Kaminari. Of course he would go off on his own. Worrying over how Bakugo was going to handle rescuing people was pointless, that guy's attitude was a tough one. The only hope for him was the two other boys, they might be able to help him out in this test.

Mizuha shook her head, _or not._

In her peripheral vision, she saw something tilt. Her feet stopped completely and she turned her head to look at what was really happening. A part of the building was falling.

It was about to fall on a child laying face down.

"Holy… what—!"

Mizuha rode a wave of water and immediately stopped the debris with a wall of ice. The debris fell against the ice and managed to crack it. She paled. It wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

 _I should just shove it on the other side—!_

"Someone help!"

"I'm stuck!"

"It hurts!"

 _No, I can't do that! There are three more people around… If I carelessly toss it over, I might crush a civilian!_

The debris was weighing harder on the ice. And now she was starting to notice the other parts of the building starting to fall apart, warning about its inevitable collapse.

 _This isn't good! If I use my ice to support the one that's about to fall… I might risk shaking the ground and speeding up the fall._

 _I don't want to risk things using my ice!_

 _I need help!_

She pointed her palm to the sky, a ball of ice shot into the air and exploded into fragments. She did this three times and hoped it caught someone's attention. The child was still laying face down on the ground, he was groaning in pain.

"My head…"

She bit her lip, "Just hang in there!"

The H.U.C staff was seriously doing a good job. The situation literally felt like a disaster zone.

The moment she heard footsteps coming her way, she immediately used what she already knew. The first person in her sight was immediately called upon. She pointed her finger at them while trying to maintain the strength of her ice.

"You! Help the civilians around this place! This is going to fall!"

She remembered reading something about rescue. The quickest way to get help in a crowd was to directly address the person so that they knew they had a responsibility to fulfill.

It was Shu. He was on his way with a few of his classmates. When he saw Mizuha struggling against the failing building, he quickly told the others that they needed to hurry. The maroon haired boy took a larger step forward and literally flashed to her position.

"How can I help?" he asked, ready to act.

"I heard a voice coming from behind the building, over there." she pointed to the other side.

Shu would be the most appropriate choice for that person. If she remembered correctly, he said he was capable of using properties of light. He could quickly get that person that was situated farther away from the others and get them out of there at the speed of light. But even with that, she still couldn't just throw off the debris on that side. One false move and the whole thing was going collapse, and the H.U.C were going to get caught underneath.

Another piece of debris fell on the ice she was desperately trying to keep together, she gritted her teeth and focused.

Shindo arrived first. His eyes scanned the current situation and spotted the other civilians in need of rescue. The time limit became apparent when he saw the building beginning to collapse, including the struggle Mizuha was going through. He shouted out directions for Makabe and Toteki as he went to go help a civilian nearby.

Shu jumped away from the area while carrying an elderly woman, "It's safe over here!"

Makabe went for the child that Mizuha was initially protecting, easing her burden. Thankfully, the last one wasn't too buried in the rubble. Toteki was able to help the old man out of there with Shu's help, successfully evacuating the people from the danger.

"Drop it!" Shu shouted at her.

Mizuha's ice's shot up and pushed away the piling debris, evoking tremors once it landed and lifting a cloud of dust. The remaining parts of the building started falling apart now. Water gathered around her feet and quickly carried her away from the destruction just in the nick of time. She landed near the Ketsubutsu students who were checking the civilians for their injuries.

Shu was looking over the child that was previously faced down.

"He's probably suffering from a concussion." he looked at his classmates, "We need to bring him there fast."

Shindo stepped forward, "I'll do it—"

Mizuha raised her hand and approached the kid, taking him up in her arms. "I'll do it. I'll get there faster to get him checked out."

To prove it, more water gathered below her and then held her up in the air. She figured this would also be beneficial since it wouldn't require much movement from her, lessening the kid's pain.

"There's a first-aid station set up near at the anteroom." Shindo informed her while pointing at the other side.

Mizuha nodded, carefully adjusting the kid in her arms, and then took off. She was going to have to be very careful while carrying him, she didn't want to risk dropping a kid with a concussion. That would seriously deduct points.

The kid she was carrying was staring at her face. Her face was twisting in all sorts of expressions, clearly thinking about something while concentrating.

"Oi!"

Mizuha looked at the H.U.C kid.

"Y-Yes?"

"I'm a kid with a concussion. I'm in pain. You could at least be a little more comforting by saying something encouraging." He said with a look that said he wasn't impressed.

She swallowed and looked away, "I-I'm not so good at that."

He freaking flicked her. Hard.

"Then work on it now! And smile a little! Your face looks like you don't even care!" he exclaimed, practically screeching at her.

Mizuha winced from the pain and the reprimands.

"I-It's going to be alright…! You'll be okay."

He looked like he was expecting a bit more.

 _"Smiles usually help a Hero's image! Think 'bout All Might, that guy's always smiling and that's one of the reasons people love 'im!"_

 _As a demonstration, Fatgum used his index fingers to push the corner of his mouth upwards, "Smile!" he encouraged with his own._

 _She tried._

 _Her face felt twitchy._

 _Her smile barely reached her eyes. It just looked like someone curved her mouth and left it as it is._

 _"A dead smile!" he remarked, laughing._

With a deep breath, she shut her eyes for a moment. She tried recalling the most recent thing that made her super happy. When she found one, it traced back to another memory that made her feel happy, and it kept going until she reached the moment where she hugged Shiran for the first time in five years.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself naturally curving a smile on her lips. Her head turned and she looked at the kid in her arms, smiling at him. Unlike the time where she forced a smile with Taishiro, the smile displayed on her face was reaching her eyes.

"You're going to be alright!"

The kid stared at her for a few seconds, then he nodded, satisfied.

"Better."

…

…

…

Things were moving quickly. Mizuha was never standing idle. When she dropped off the first person, she spotted someone sending out a signal from a nearby area and immediately went over to provide her help. She was so focused on her tasks that she didn't even notice that she ran past her classmates several times. In other words, she was in a flow state.

She was presently getting ready to head out again into the field after dropping off an old man at the station.

"Hyoumei!"

She first ignored it, but the word 'help' that accompanied her name brought her attention to the voice. Her eyes searched for the person who called her. It was Shu, and he was with Shindo. They both started running to another building that collapsed. The girl followed after them without saying anything. Shu was calling for her to help out since she was the closest person that was available.

They didn't get too far when, suddenly, an explosion went off, followed by another in a different location and another. The three students all stopped and looked around, there was smoke coming from different areas.

 **"There has been a large-scale terrorist attack by villains."**

Midoriya was still at the first-aid station, "Everyone, the scenario for the exercise…!"

The explosions continued around them for another few seconds.

"Seriously…?!" Shindo shielded his face.

The flow she was in was disrupted when she noticed figures emerging from the cloud of smoke in the distance. The one leading the group came out first.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes, "… Are you kidding?"

"Gang Orca…!" Midoriya identified.

"Number Ten, huh?" Shu gritted his teeth, hands balling into a fist.

They needed to defend the site— no, they needed to evacuate them. They didn't have enough people to act as the rearguard nor did they have enough to help evacuate. They needed more help and they needed to continue rescuing people.

"I'll go and get more people to help out. You guys should head back." Shu decided before running off, flashing away.

Shindo and Mizuha both ran back to the medical camp without sparing another second, and the villains began charging down the slope.

 **"Villains have appeared and started their pursuit! Hero candidates at the scene should continue their rescue efforts while also suppressing the villains."**

Of course it wasn't going to be simple.

* * *

 **Almost done with the Provisional License Exam! The next chapter will obviously wrap up the arc.**

 **I hope the chapter wasn't too boring since most of it was taking place in the anteroom** **(´・‿・`)**


	22. Chapter 22: Provisional License Exam III

The situation was getting difficult. They had to deal with villains and continue the rescue at the same time. Multitasking in normal everyday life was an easy thing for her. But something like this? She was going to find out how she could manage.

As soon as Mizuha made it back to the medial camp, she looked over at the number of people that was already settled, worrying about how the villains were going to attack and how they were going to defend. They were way too close to them. They needed to move as soon as possible. As the group of Villains charged to attack their medial site, Midoriya stood in the back to defend since the others already had their hands full with the H.U.C. And those who weren't were trying to figure out how they were going to deal with the mob of Villains charging their way.

The choice was easy for Mizuha. She was going to help with the rearguard. She could keep them away with a defensive wall or something.

She was running alongside Shindo. He, however, started picking up his pace. He went past both Mizuha and Midoriya.

"Get everyone to safety! Toward the back!"

She stopped next to Midoriya. It seemed like he was set on defending the site by himself.

"Get them as far away from the Villains as possible!"

The green haired boy didn't spare another second, he nodded and turned the other away to help. Other candidates heard Shindo and was already on working on their task.

"I'll keep hammering away at them with tremors at one-second intervals!"

She was just standing there, watching the scene. Gang Orca's subordinates were approaching them, fast.

The dark brown haired boy kneeled down and placed his palms on the ground, activating his Quirk. In an instant, the ground vibrated beneath their feet, shattering the earth.

Mizuha saw the ringleader moving through the shatter earth, easily making his way to the front while his subordinates fell back. Her eyes widened when she saw that. She was moving now; she was running to Shindo. Now that she thought about it, one person wasn't going to be enough to stop them. The test wasn't going to be designed to be that easy. Her guess was proven when she saw Pro-Hero quickly approaching the second year.

 _Damn, not good._

They needed more people to defend the evacuation.

"Wait!" she shouted.

Gang Orca appeared in front of Shindo, looming over him. She sucked her teeth. The girl leaped up high into the air with the help of her Quirk.

"Too slow." Gang Orca stared down at the second year.

She saw Shindo get caught in the hypersonic wave that Gang Orca unleashed on him. She narrowed her eyes and bit her lip in frustration. Not good. They needed people to defend. They couldn't afford to lose people. She was hoping to make it in time but it seemed like she was too late. But that didn't mean she couldn't try to lessen the damage Shindo was taking.

Her hands gripped the handle tighter. She let out a cry and swung down her giant ice hammer.

Gang Orca looked up and saw ice coming down on him. The user was hidden from his sight but he knew who was attacking him. He directed his Quirk towards the first year and then shattered the hammer with his hypersonic waves. Mizuha quickly forced herself down to the ground with water. As the ice broke apart, she was nowhere to be seen in the air. It happened fast. If she was caught by his Quirk, he should have seen her fall to the ground.

Instead, he caught a glimpse of her staring at him cautiously while she held her arms out behind Shindo, catching him as he fell back. Once the second year was in her hold, she moved away from Gang Orca with a wave of water, carrying herself and Shindo away at a safer distance. She couldn't go too far because that would leave no one to defend.

She narrowed her eyes at Gang Orca.

"It would be wise not to underestimate your opponent like he did." he warned, "You're only left with a single anchor now." he pointed out.

He was obviously referring to Mizuha.

Could she do it on her own? She might probably end up like Shindo if she's not careful. She wasn't sure if ice would be effective on them. Ice might be able to stop his subordinates but the leader could just break it with his Quirk. Steam was out of the question. Maybe if she used water, then she might be able to do something. Her eyes glanced down at Shindo, whose upper body was being held up with her arms, and frowned.

He wasn't unconscious but he wasn't moving either.

"Damn it…" he muttered, his eyes focused on the Pro-Hero.

It was clear that his help wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

At the sound of approaching footsteps, she flickered her eyes back at Gang Orca and set down Shindo.

She was going to have to try and hold out until more people came.

 _Shu went to rally others… so I shouldn't worry too much._

As Gang Orca took another step that was too close for comfort, Mizuha aggressively stomped her foot on the ground and held up a hand. Ice sprouted from the ground at the base of her boot and rushed to her target while a high-pressure water orb swirled in her hand. Her ice spikes continued to try and reach Gang Orca whereas he continued to block away her ice with his Quirk. She swung her arm down and sent the water orb zooming towards him. That's what it seemed like to his subordinates at least. The water actually knocked away one of Gang Orca's men that tried to slip past the two. At the same time, more ice came rushing at him but from another direction.

Her eyes widened a little. While keeping her focus, she turned her head and saw Todoroki who just arrived.

He looked at her and nodded.

 _Finally!_

Again, it didn't work on Gang Orca. He increased his Quirk's its range and blocked away all the ice coming his way. She and Todoroki didn't stop their ice, it was doing a good job at stalling anyway. She raised her right arm and sent a wave of water after the lackeys that tried pursing the evacuation. They got washed away to the other side near the hole they emerged from. If she and Todoroki could keep it up, then they might be able to give the others enough time to move the injured.

A grin started spreading on her face.

 _Yeah, I think this is going to work. Now if more people came—_

Her hair flew in her face wildly as wind flew everywhere. She flinched and leaned away when ice pieces suddenly flew.

"What the…?" she muttered, "Was that Byakuren?"

"A villain attack? You guys have prepared some pretty hot developments!"

 _Great, it's Yoarashi…_

Mizuha sighed. She didn't know if she was supposed to feel glad or annoyed that he was here, especially since he just blasted away all the ice. If Aizawa wasn't lying, which she doubts he would for this exam, then he might be well suited for this type of job. He had the top scores out of all those who were recommended in U.A. and Todoroki was one of those who were recommended.

Now that she was thinking about it, it wasn't a bad team up. If ice wasn't going to be effective, then perhaps wind and fire would do the job. It might be more affective than just trying to stall Gang Orca the way she and Todoroki did.

 _In that case…_

She averted her eyes away from the two and looked at Gang Orca's posse. On a wave of water, she zig zagged way from Gang Orca, avoiding him, and went straight for them. The boss of the group tried to prevent Mizuha from getting to the subordinates but he was interrupted when a wave of fire protected her back. She enveloped her fists in swirls of high-pressure water and started attacking. Her first target got blown away from her punch, she added a little oomph to it by incorporating the water-explosion idea she came up with during her match with Bakugo. After knocking away three people, they started become wary of her and chose to shoot her with the machinery they were equipped with.

Mizuha had to use Aqua Protection to protect herself.

"Alright, go! Get passed her!"

Mizuha was about to stop her barrier until she realized that she was surrounded. She could somewhat see it through the water. They were waiting for her to come out or waiting for her Quirk to die down. Others were indeed running past her and they were heading for the evacuation.

She kissed her teeth. An ice dragon shot up in the air from the center point of her barrier, and it roared at them as it appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

"GAH! What the?!"

The ice dragon reeled back, and then rushed past them while touching the earth and their shoes. Those who tried to reach the evacuation found themselves stuck and unable to move.

The subordinates who were surrounding her briefly looked away to check on their comrades. A smirk stretched on her face when she was no longer being watched. Her barrier exploded, sending several men flying away from the shockwave. Her head whipped around a couple of times to make sure that she was safe. She didn't know what was in those guns and she didn't want to find out.

Her breathe came out in a white cloud thanks to the cool temperature around her.

 _Alright, I think I can manage them._

When she turned around to check on the situation of the evacuation, her eyes witnessed Todoroki's fire get blown away by Yoarashi's wind that were both aimed at Gang Orca.

She quirked up an eyebrow. _What the…?_

"Why'd you use fire?! The heat makes the wind rise!"

"Because the ice was blocked earlier! Didn't you do that on purpose? Your wind blew away my flames!"

Everyone paused.

"You're the one who did it on purpose to keep me from getting all the glory!"

"Huh? Why would I do that?!"

Mizuha's fists shook.

"Why wouldn't you?!"

She was growing irritated by their pointless bickering. Honestly, it seemed like a lot of things were pissing her off today.

"I mean, you're the son of that Endeavor!"

Mizuha gritted her teeth, "HEY!" she shouted.

Her words didn't even get through them.

Apparently, mentioning his father's name was the trigger. Todoroki glared at Yoarashi, "This whole time... what…the hell is your problem? My father has nothing to do with it—!"

Suddenly, Todoroki was shot in the chest by one of the guns of Gang Orca's subordinates.

"Cement Gun!" said the Villain that shot him, he kept it aimed at Todoroki and was ready to shoot again, "It'll harden up real fast and make it hard for you to move."

Mizuha's eyes widened when felt one of the cement shots land on her left foot, sticking her to that one spot. She didn't even notice other subordinates behind her. They were coming out like cockroaches!

"Let's take her out!"

 _No, no, no! Come on, move!_

She froze the cement and wiggled her foot out of it, breaking it. Without thinking too much, she kicked the hardened cement at one of Gang Orca's subordinates, knocking him away and sending him tumbling over a section of the earth that had risen up from Shindo's Quirk.

He groaned in pain while holding his side.

"Damn." Someone from her left said with a whistle.

Her eyes flickered back to the first-aid station to check on the situation. From her spot, she could see two things standing out. A familiar shadow and a person with a tail, they were both carrying people. It was Tokoyami and Ojiro. That was good.

As Yoarashi started talking about something she could care less about at the moment, she tried her best at multitasking; defending herself and the evacuation, and battling subordinates.

There was so many of them.

A fist aimed at her face struck her and she stumbled when she felt a little disorientated. It was strong. But it wasn't as painful as when Byakuren punched her. She whipped her head back in front of her and slammed her fist into their guts before pivoting and slamming her leg into another guy's stomach. They both groaned and sunk to the floor.

Someone aimed a kick at her side. She instantly moved to the side and grabbed their ankle, and then pulled him towards her. He let out a surprised cry when she started directing him towards his ally, literally throwing him at the other with both her hands.

 _Damn, Fatgum's lessons on hand-to-hand combat are really paying off._

A small group somewhere on the right started shooting at her. Surprised, she ducked and avoided the first one that flew her way before jumping away and putting up a water wall. The cement gathered inside the water and piled up together. The goop of cement fell harmlessly on the ground when she evaporated her water. At the same time, more of them were getting past her.

With an irritated groan, she leaped up into the air and propelled herself higher with her water to give her a boost. She raised her arm and generated rods of ice above her head. Her arm swung down and they rained down on the subordinates. Some of the rods broke in midair thanks to the other Villains who shot their cement guns, but those who were caught were pinned to the ground after they got knocked down to the ground, the ice rod had spread on their body and stuck them on the ground.

Only a single rod was left on the ground. Normally, she wouldn't be thinking of doing something like this (out of fear of breaking her foot or something) but she landed on the rod with one foot and balanced herself. Then she hopped off and leaped on one guy that was able to escape and froze him against the ground when he fell forward.

"Oh come on!" her opponent cringed.

She jumped off the subordinate and washed away the others to the side, sending them back to the side whence they came.

Her eyes looked up. She remembered about Shindo and felt compelled to check if he was alright. If he was, then he could probably lend her a hand or something. To her relief, she saw him starting to sit up. While her attention was on Shindo, she didn't realize several of the Villains shooting at her.

A boy with white hair was flying straight to her location after Shu came by his area. From afar, when he saw the cement flying towards his friend, he accelerated his speed and made an extension of the wind carrying him. It became a tempest that came raging to her aid, proving her cover. The cement all but absorbed into the swirling wind before flying back to whoever shot them.

"GAH—!"

" _OOF_ —!"

The wind threw Byakuren to the ground and he skidded to a stop behind his friend. The sound of his boots scratching against the earth caught her attention. Mizuha looked behind her shoulder. Her lips formed a thin line but her eyebrows were raised when she looked at him over her shoulder with surprised eyes. Byakuren glanced back at her and winked.

"Sorry, I'm late~"

A grin formed on her lips, "Better late than never."

He opened his mouth to say something witty but his light purple eyes widened in shock. He he turned around completely, "HEY! WATCH OUT!" he yelled at someone.

Mizuha turned around just in time to see flames flying straight at Shindo, who was shocked and who was still feeling the effects of Gang Orca's Quirk. He wasn't going to be able to move fast enough to get away.

 _Holy… what the hell?!_

Even if she tried to reach him in time, she wouldn't be able to make it with how close the flames were getting. She might even get burned if she miraculously got there in the nick of time.

 _… Better than letting him roast alive!_

However, before she could even move, she saw Midoriya appear and grasp onto the front of Shindo's costume. He jumped away from the fire just in time, pulling Shindo along with him.

The two who were at fault only stood there, shocked at their own mistakes. They couldn't believe the danger they just caused.

"What are you doing?!" Midoriya's shout echoed before he and Shindo went crashing down somewhere safer, lifting a cloud of dust upon impact.

…

…

…

 _That's it._

Mizuha's hands shakily turned into fists.

Byakuren sensed his friend's irritation and cringed. He didn't like it when she got angry. He always tried to avoid it by trying to calm her down.

The water around her fists represented her mood. Anger. It was swirling violently around her hands. She raised them both and directed them at the two students who were pissing her off. Yoarashi nearly ate her water if he had not moved away. While the one aimed at Todoroki flew past his face, drizzling on his cheek, before crashing into the ground with a loud sound. When it landed, it damaged the ground since it was highly pressured.

They both looked at the girl who fuming. Everything was still.

"Seriously, what the fuck are you guys doing?! Are you out of your damn minds?! If you want to continue this pointless bickering then go do it somewhere else where you won't hurt people!"

Byakuren placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "Mizuha—"

She briskly slapped his hand away, "Get off me!"

Byakuren backed off in surrender.

"You should know better than to include personal matters in a situation like this! Get the hell out of here if you want to mess around!" She yelled.

A subordinate that tried escaping her eye found himself frozen up to the waist in an instant. The poor guy.

This was the second time this year that Todoroki saw her look angry, and this time, it was towards him. She was looking at him and he could see the disappointment in her eyes, and somehow that just stung.

"Hyoumei…"

Said girl only clicked her tongue and resumed her task in keeping Gang Orca's men away from the evacuation. She wasn't going to stand there and listen to him talk. Hell, she didn't even want to hear Todoroki or Yoarashi say another damn word. If they started arguing one more time, she didn't even know what she was going to do.

But she had a feeling she was going to use her ice on them.

Her attacks were being fueled by her emotions and her adrenaline, making her attacks even harsher. Noticing this, Byakuren dealt with those who were around him before moving close to his friend.

"Cool it. You might get reckless."

She ignored him.

He frowned.

During his brief inattention, he was shot in the back by one of the cement guns. He fell on the ground and the cement already started hardening.

She stared down at him and scowled, "Are you kidding me?!"

An angry vein appeared on the side of him temple, "Don't even think about taking your anger out on me." he glowered while trying to free himself to no avail.

It was Mizuha's turn to get hit while she wasn't paying attention. She was kicked in the back and cement stuck her arms on the ground when she landed in an uncomfortable position.

"Finally! She's down!"

At the same time, Yoarashi and Todoroki fell victim to Gang Orca's waves. Yoarashi went crashing down and Todoroki was wincing in the Pro-Hero's grip, both could no longer move.

The four were unable to move.

"Alright! Let's go mess up the evacuation shelter!"

Mizuha gritted her teeth as she watched them get away.

A flash of light dropped down, smashing the earth. The beam of light flew past a couple of subordinates, knocking them out. It stopped a few feet away from the unconscious enemies, revealing Shu enveloped in light.

"No you don't."

The rest of the subordinates looked taken back by his sudden appearance. They didn't have time when they suddenly felt the earth shake. It broke and they were all losing their footing once more.

Mizuha and Byakuren blinked.

A pair of shoes appeared in front of Mizuha's face.

She looked up.

A scowl appeared on her face.

Ikari was standing before her and he was smirking down. "Need a hand?"

She narrowed her eyes, "Don't even start with me. I'm not in the mood."

The Shiketsu student only laughed before setting both his hands on the hardened cement, "I figured. I could hear you screeching from a mile away."

 _Come on, I wasn't THAT loud._

Shu and Shindo were both taking Mizuha and Byakuren's place in dealing with Gang Orca's men while Ikari was busy melting off the cement on them. Shindo was guarding the shelter while Shu was covering Ikari. When she was free, he grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet. That was his way of telling her to hurry up and keep protecting the evacuation shelter. Byakuren was freed in no time as well.

"I'll go near the shelter and act as a final defense until their done." Ikari said before flying off in a coat of fire. He put up a wall of fire to keep way the enemy.

She heard someone approaching her from behind and she quickly turned on her heel to dodge. At the same time, Shindo popped up from behind her and punched away the opponent. Then, Mizuha, Byakuren, Shu and Shindo found themselves back to back, facing the enemies surrounding them.

Still, Mizuha found it reassuring that she wasn't alone this time.

They were all working together efficiently.

Suddenly, they all felt a burst of heat coming from somewhere in the distance. The place where Gang Orca supposedly was had a huge tornado of fire spinning in one place. The fire was coming from Todoroki and Yoarashi's wind was helping it form the tornado. The Villains tried helping their boss by attacking Todoroki but their attacks were useless against the wall of ice the boy had put up. He was using both his left and right side.

For Mizuha, one thing was clear. They had the advantage now.

But it might not last long. Their task was to keep rescuing while fighting off the villains. If that was the case, then they needed to speed up the rescuing process.

"Byakuren, go back out there and help out with the rescue." she said after freezing a few subordinates in her path.

Byakuren kicked away a guy and looked at her.

"With your Quirk, we could wrap this up faster." Shu added before launching a light beam at an enemy's chest, knocking him down.

"Get going!" Shindo vibrated the ground again.

Byakuren moved without wasting another second. He ran towards the field and jumped up, carrying himself away with his wind.

The first defenders were Hyoumei Mizuha, Shindo Yo, Mokuen Shu and Shinketsu Ikari. The four of them didn't need to struggle defending since their numbers were slowly increasing. The evacuation was done, they just needed to hold them off a little longer.

It was going smoothly so far and everyone was working together.

And for some reason, Mizuha mostly found herself fighting alongside the dark brown haired boy. She was fighting with 'Byakuren 2.0'. Wherever she went, Shindo provided her with cover when she needed it, and she did the same for him.

"Duck!"

Mizuha yelped and crouched down as quickly as she could. A grinning Shindo jumped over her and landed a drop kick on the guy behind her. Meanwhile, someone was running towards them, he was most likely chasing after Shindo. Mizuha snapped her head up at the guy and then moved to punched him away with her water-explosion punch.

Mizuha's back brushed against Shindo's when they both jumped back to the center.

The numbers were decreasing but there were still many men left. At the present moment, they were dealing with most of them. They were taking care of the larger crowd while the other students were taking care of those who slipped past them. It was fine. They wouldn't get very far since a lot of students were joining the fight. Gang Orca was left with Todoroki and Yoarashi, making their job easier.

 _They can't shatter strong ice…_

 _If so, I should end this…_

Mizuha turned her head a little, just enough so that she could see the second year's hair.

"… Hey, can you do another one of those vibrations?" asked Mizuha, feeling less timid than usual. Working together with Shindo somewhat quelled her timid self from surfacing. "I wanna trap them in an ice prison they can't break free from… but I need to round them up."

Shindo didn't look at her but she could hear him grin. "Alright, show me where you want them."

Mizuha bit her lip, feeling somewhat excited at the idea of this particular teamwork. She sprinted towards to the side where the Villains originally came from. They started shooting at her but she blocked the attacks with water. After running a few more steps, she leaped onto a large rock and jumped off, landing on one of the men's chest and using him as a springboard.

"Shoot her!"

With his Quirk, Shindo vibrated the earth once more, causing it to break and rise. The group lost their footing and started stumbling like drunk men. The second year was literally rolling them away like balls after her.

Mizuha landed on the ground just in time for them to arrive.

A smirk appeared on her lips.

"Aqua Protection!"

Her jacket moved like a cape from the wind that the forming water was causing. From her feet, water swirled around before expanding. However, it was only swirling around her body.

 _But I just need to tweak it a bit to—_

Mizuha swung her arms down and the water expanded greatly, creating a huge water barrier around her and the villains. She effectively blocked all their routes to retreat. It was over.

"We're trapped!"

"We need to get out of here and help the Boss!"

Two villains behind her decided to team up and attack her from behind.

Mizuha stuck her tongue out at them. Her body crouched down, and then a pillar of ice shot her straight up. It shattered into fragments when she was physical off the ice. A hole opened up in the center of the water barrier, granting her access to the outside world. She flew out and stared down at the men who only watched her leave the barrier. She made sure to close up the hole once her body made it out to prevent getting hit by cement. As she felt the wind hit her face, whipping her hair in every direction, she couldn't help a wide smile spreading on her face. It wasn't a situation where she was supposed to be smiling, but it was hard not to at this moment. It was a little fun.

 _I like using my Quirk like this!_

The spinning water had a massive volume, making it physically impossible to step out without getting hurt by the high pressure water.

In an instant, starting from the bottom, the water turned into ice. It looked like a tornado frozen in time. They were all trapped.

Shindo whistled.

When she lost momentum, she used her water to carry her back to the ground safely. When she was a feet away from the ground, she evaporated the water and landed with uneasy footing.

Shindo held out an arm to her just in case she fell. When she gained proper balance, Mizuha looked at him and found him looking at her too.

"What a flashy move." he laughed lightly, "An impressive one at that."

She only grinned bashfully while rubbing the back of her nape.

Suddenly, an alarm echoed throughout the place.

 **"Um, at present, all the H.U.C who were deployed have been rescued from the danger zone. It may seem arbitrary, but with this, all the provisional licensing exam procedures have been completed. After we tally the scores, we will announce the results here. Those who were injured should go to the infirmary. The rest of you should change and then stand by."**

Mizuha stared up at nothing in particular. It was finally over. She shut her eyes and sighed.

That's when she felt it. She was _exhausted_ as hell.

The girl stumbled back a few steps and then dropped on her rear, breathing out heavily.

Shindo crouched down in front of her and frowned, looking a bit worried. "You good?"

Mizuha nodded silently before chuckling to herself. "Just the adrenaline wearing off." then she pulled off her left glove and pressed her hand under her chin, using the cold temperature of her hand to somewhat cool herself off.

She turned her head to look at the frozen water dome. Since the test was over, she decided to free them by melting away the ice until it completely evaporated.

She looked back at Shindo and remembered how he suffered a direct attack from Gang Orca.

"What about you? You nearly got K.O'ed by Gang Orca." her hand rose up before she could even think and she held it up to the side of his temple, poking it once with her finger. He blinked.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary? Maybe you have a concussion or something. I dunno."

The dark brown haired boy only smiled before placing his hands on his knees and pushing himself up. "Nah. I've built up some resistance against those types of attacks. I'm fine." he assured.

He held out a hand for her.

She didn't hesitate to put her hand in his.

He looked at her in surprise and then he smiled sweetly. "I'm surprised you're not wiping your hand away like you did earlier."

 _There's that two-faced vibe again._

Mizuha puffed out a laugh and shrugged. "I have a friend who's like you. So, I'm used to it." then she gave her own fox-smile.

Shindo snickered. "Is that so?"

He pulled her up to her feet and she wobbled a little.

Her shy-self kicked in again. She gave him a shy little smile when she thanked him.

Unlike back when she first arrived at the area, she didn't feel uneasy about him. She found his presence… rather enjoyable. He wasn't so bad. Which was odd for her to assume considering how they literally just met today. Discreetly, her mouth tugged upwards to the right as she put her glove back on her hand.

"We made a pretty good team back there." he smiled at her as they started walking.

Mizuha looked at him, "Yeah, I think so too." she replied while noticing how tall he was.

"Yo! Mizuha!"

The two students looked ahead and watched as Shu ran to them while waving his hand. Mizuha noticed Byakuren running after him, looking just as exhausted as she was. He flashed her a smile when he saw her looking at him.

Shu stopped in front of them, or rather in front of Mizuha. He pulled her head forward and checked behind her head for any injuries. Mizuha held her tongue and waited for his inspection to pass while looking at both Shindo and Byakuren with a look of confusion. She was expecting an explanation of some sort.

Shindo sighed and shrugged, "Shu is the mother hen of our class."

"Yeah, but why is he fussing over Mizuha?" Byakuren muttered.

The girl held his arms up away from her and tried fighting him off. He was trying to check her shoulder since he remembered she got hit earlier when Byakuren was still fighting with them. Shu tried moving around her while having his arms restricted but she simply moved away. At first, she was embarrassed but his fussing was getting funny. It was bringing her back to the old days.

She remembered how Shu used to worry over the smallest things when things got tough. He worried over her and her friends like as if they were his siblings. That was probably why he felt so bad for five years. He was a worrier.

"I'm fine!" she said with a laugh.

"Are you sure?!" he grinned.

Okay, Shu was definitely playing around with her now.

Shindo pulled him away with his collar, "Give the girl some space, mom." he said, sounding exasperated.

"I can't believe you're still such a worrywart!" Mizuha's shoulders shook as she covered her mouth with her hand.

As Mizuha and Shu laughed together, Byakuren's eyes set their sights on the dark brown haired boy who was staring at Mizuha thoughtfully. He lifted a brow and tilted his head. Shindo felt the watchful eyes of the white haired boy and flickered his eyes up to him. The two old friends didn't notice the second year give the first year an innocent smile.

Watching from afar, Todoroki's eyes followed the four leaving the area together. He was able to get off the cement off his body and he was planning on searching for the platinum blonde haired girl. But as soon as he saw her with Byakuren and the two students from Ketsubutsu, he stopped himself. He didn't want to risk souring her mood right before they got the results. It would be better to first see how he faired on the exam before seeking her out and apologizing to her. He needed to see what his actions cost him. He needed to face the consequences first.

Still, the disappointment in her eyes was still fresh in his mind.

 _She must be really upset with me._

* * *

The four students walked out of the arena, they walked to the locker rooms together while talking. They were looking back on the things that happened during the fight, complementing each other's moves. Then it went from that to talking a bit about each other since they were two pairs from two different schools. Mizuha learned that Shindo was basically Shu's version of Byakuren. The two became friends in middle school and decided to go to the same high school together. She found that bit interesting.

The female and male's locker rooms were actually pretty close. After changing out of her costume, she took a seat somewhere where Byakuren would see her when he exited. Besides, she didn't want to go back outside yet. There was heat out there. When she was waiting, she was busy looking through her phone. Then a notification appeared after a minute or so. It was a text from Togata.

 _Togata: I finished my exam! Kishokei-sensei said he would be done correcting tonight and have the results ready tomorrow!_

A small laugh escaped her.

"You better pass that test."

"Talking to yourself?"

Mizuha eeped and fumbled with her phone. It actually slipped out of her hands and was diving straight to the floor. But she didn't bother desperately catching it. It wouldn't be the first time she dropped it. Her phone was a tough soldier.

But a hand swooped down and caught it without fail. Whoever caught it was obviously done changing since it looked like they were wearing their school uniform. Dark brown pants and a gray shirt. Her eyes landed on the unruly dark brown hair.

 _Shindo…?_

He peeked at her through his bangs. A smirk was on his face. "And she's jumpy too." he teased.

Mizuha shot him a tired look and watched as he straightened up. She lightly puffed her cheeks and held out her hand, "Thank you."

Shindo only smiled when he gently set her phone in the palm of her hand. "Kyouran is taking his sweet time with Shu." he informed before sitting down next to her on the bench.

Mizuha looked at him from the side as he looked up at the ceiling, making his hair look even messier against the wall. "You're waiting for Shu then?"

"Yep." he said popping the 'p' and started carding his fingers through his dark hair.

He was probably also enjoying the cool air in the hallway. It was pretty hot since it was still summer after all.

Then he stretched his arms above his head, "By the way, thanks for earlier."

"Huh?"

"Gang Orca."

"Oh. It wasn't a big deal. I just wanted to avoid fighting alone and decreasing our chances of success."

"… But you didn't really need to save me." he chuckled, "I told you, I've built up resistance against those types of attacks. I was going to launch a surprise attack once I recovered."

Mizuha snickered, "Recovered? You were already taking long to recover from the one I saved you."

Shindo frowned at this and then lolled his head to the side to look at her, "You don't know that. I could be faking it."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

The platinum blonde haired girl only lifted her eyebrow and nodded, not convinced. "I'll just nod and agree." said Mizuha with an amused grin before putting away her phone in her pocket.

He didn't say anything. Shindo moved his head away from the wall and turned to look at her properly, "You're underestimating me?" he leaned a bit closer to her, narrowing his eyes. His tone of voice didn't share the same amusement.

At that, Mizuha and she leaned away. She lost all her confidence in an instant and started lightly waving her hands in front of her. "No. I swear I'm not…!" she said while averting her eyes away from his.

Shindo continued looking at her.

 _Okay, maybe it was a bad idea to get a little comfortable with this guy…_

Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest. She was worried and freaking out internally. It wasn't her intention to piss off the second year. Maybe she should just get up and leave. She didn't really need to wait for Byakuren anyway—

He stifled a laugh behind his hand and moved away from her. This made her snap her eyes back at the dark brown haired boy, finding his sudden amusement odd. But the more the stared at him, the more she understood. Her shoulders slouched and she shot him a deadpanned look.

"Don't do that." she grumbled.

He snorted. "Not my fault you took it seriously."

He enjoyed how she went from looking smug to all of a sudden looking panicked. He obviously meant that last part as a joke but she took it too seriously. How could he resist not playing with her a little?

"I don't know you that well. I don't know what could tick you off in an instant." she defended.

"True, you got a point." he said before suddenly grabbing her hand in the same manner he did this morning, then he smiled charmingly, "Sorry?"

 _I didn't fall for that this morning and I'm not falling for that now!_

"Hell no." she spat before ripping her hand away from his hands and tucking it away in her pocket.

Aside from the chatter and footsteps leaving the hallway, there was a moment of silence between them. Then, Mizuha was the first to turn her head to the side, away from him, and started laughing quietly in the corner. Her shaking shoulders, however, gave away her amusement to Shindo. Then he, too, started laughing.

She was laughing with someone she just met today.

"Aye, look at that. They're flirting~"

Immediately, Mizuha stopped laughing and she glared at Byakuren.

He paled, "Or not."

Mizuha and Shindo got up from the bench and walked back into the arena with their friends.

…

…

…

"Okay… Everyone, thanks for all your hard work… Now, I will announce the results, but before that, I will tell you about the scoring system. Between those of us at the Heroes Public Safety Commission and H.U.C, we had a two-fold demerit system we used while watching you. In other words, we were evaluating on how few mistakes you made in a crisis situation Anyway, the names of those who passed are listed in syllabary order." Mera then held his hand up to the screen. "Please check the list keeping those words in mind."

The screw then displayed the names of those who passed.

"Still… a lot of people passed, huh?" Byakuren muttered as he kept scrolling through the names. "Oh! I found my name!"

She didn't want to rush in searching her name. She started from the right side even though she knew her name wouldn't be found there, and simply went up and down to the left from there. She was confident that she passed. She made a few mistakes but... it wasn't be that bad, right?

Her heart nearly dropped when she didn't see her name because she accidentally skipped over it.

 **Hyōmei Mizuha _  
_** **氷明** **水覇**

"I passed."

Her classmates behind her each started cheering when they found their name. From her peripheral vision, she saw Todoroki still staring at the screen. Out of curiosity, she decided to search for his and Yoarashi's names. She didn't find them. They didn't pass the exam.

Mizuha sighed.

 _Well, they should have known better. If this was a real thing, the consequences would have been bad._

The platinum blonde haired girl ran her fingers in her front bangs. She recalled her words and frowned.

 _Was I… too harsh?_

"I DIDN'T PASS!"

Mizuha looked at Bakugo over her shoulder.

 _I guess Kirishima and Kaminari couldn't help him mellow out of his attitude just for this test._

Mizuha stiffened at the sound of the ground shaking. Was Shindo using his Quirk?!

She looked around, alarmed. However, her shoulders slouched when she saw the cause.

"It's my fault that you didn't pass!" Yoarashi was bowing in front of Todoroki… too deeply, again.

Byakuren scowled, "That guy is going to have some major brain damage one day…"

"It's because I was too narrow-minded! I'm sorry!"

Mizuha slowly looked at Todoroki, watching his reaction. He looked startled for a moment before easing up and shifting his eyes away briefly. Then he looked back at the bowing student.

"I started it in the first place. There's no need for all this."

"But…!"

"There were things I realized thanks to you confronting me directly, too.

"Two of our top three failed?" Sero said in disbelief.

Mizuha tilted her head, "Who's the third?"

The black haired boy looked her at and frowned, "That's you, Mizuha."

"… Oh, whoops."

Right, she forgot about the ranking based on the offers.

Mineta creeped up behind Todoroki with a grin, "The hierarchy's collapsing…!"

When Mizuha heard that, she turned to look at the twerp, "Mineta, I will freeze you and throw you into the Atlantic Ocean." Mizuha narrowed her eyes darkly at him.

He didn't need to rub salt into the wound.

Iida quickly intervened and pulled the short student away.

"I see that your earlier mood is not completely gone." Byakuren whispered next to her.

"Um, next we will pass out your results. They will have the breakdown of your scores, so please look over them carefully."

The men at the front started calling out names as they walked into the sea of students. Mizuha's last name was called along with Kyouran's. She quickly made her way to the left side with her friend to fetch her paper.

"The cuttoff score was 50 points. We scared based on a demerit system. You can see how many points were taken off for which actions all listed out on the printouts."

Byakuren gaped at Mizuha's paper.

"The hell? You got 92?" he grabbed hers and looked at it carefully to make sure he wasn't seeing wrong.

Mizuha smirked, "Are you blind?" she joked before reaching out for his, "How much did you get? … 89? Not bad though."

The white haired boy didn't seem satisfied. He pouted and pointed at her, "Why do you always do better than me in any damn test we do?"

Mizuha only stuck her tongue out and grinned.

"Um, for those of you who passed, from now on, during emergency situations only, you may exercise authority the same as that of Pro Heroes. In other words, fighting villains, saving people from criminal acts or accidents— You may act on your own judgement in these cases without the direction of a Hero. However, this means that each and every one of your actions carries with it a responsibility toward society…"

Mizuha was not really paying much attention anymore. She was blankly staring at her paper while her mind was lost in her own thoughts.

She was another step closer to being like her brother and uncle and the Hero she wanted to be.

And she was getting excited for the future.

* * *

Mera announced that those who failed would be allowed to take another licensing exam. In addition, they would need to take the training course while maintaining their studies to prepare for the licensing exam. They all had the potential and thus were given a second chance.

Mera slouched on the podium, "Now, if you head back inside, you'll find signs that will direct you to the rooms where we will be taking your picture and you will obtain your Provisional License." he said before resigning and walking off.

Everyone started leaving the arena at their own pace.

In the distance, Shu watched as Mizuha held up her paper proudly in front of Uraraka and Jiro. She looked very happy about passing the exam. Byakuren was also grinning proudly as he walked off with his friends. This brought a smile onto Shu's face; he was glad that his two old friends passed their exams.

When Shindo noticed that Shu was not moving along with their class, he stopped. He followed the maroon haired boy's sight and saw that he was watching the young first year who was smiling happily.

"You've definitely calmed down about Hyoumei compared to when we were on the bus." Shindo remarked with a teasing grin.

Shu only laughed sheepishly, "I was kinda nervous and excited to see Mizuha when my sister told me she was taking the exam too. I was actually hoping that she was going to be here." he said while rubbing the back of his neck. "But now that I've seen her, talked with her and laughed with her… I feel like things are less awkward now."

"She looked even more nervous than you. She hid behind Bakugo at the sight of you." he reminded, "But she's not bad."

Shu then looked at his friend suspiciously, "Back in the bus, you were annoyed that I kept rambling about how nervous I was about her. You said you weren't interested."

"I wasn't too interested until the second test." he admitted.

This morning, she saw through his so called _tactical_ self and aside from that he wasn't too interested since he was focused on trying to eliminate U.A. students from the first test. He only started taking more notice when they often cross paths while rescuing civilians.

From what he saw on TV, she could manipulate the three stages of water. And he could confidently say that she was most like the liquid part of her Quirk. Like an ocean, her mood can range of placid to turbulent, even if she didn't seem like the person that can burst like that. He could still remember how angry she sounded moments before he also switched face and got pissed.

And when they fought together during the last few minutes, they had good teamwork right off the bat. Unlike Todoroki and Yoarashi.

"We worked well as partners, she's strong. Oh, and she's fun to tease, so that's a plus."

Shu blinked. "Uh… Y-Yo?"

"I guess she's caught my interest." Shindo said nonchalantly.

Shu's body stiffened and he jerked his head in Shindo's direction, "WHAT?!"

Shindo spared one more glance at Mizuha, he was taking in the sight of her smile. He couldn't explain it but he could tell that she was unique in her own kind from the time they had. He found himself smiling too.

"And she definitely has a nice smile."

He then walked off, leaving Shu dumbfounded.

…

…

…

"Hold on just a minute! Are you serious?! Define 'interest'!"

* * *

Mizuha was massaging her cheeks with her fingers. It felt like her cheeks went through its own P.E class with all the smiling she did today. Forced smiles and genuine smiles, all seemed to have tired out her face. When she took her picture, she obviously didn't smile. The lady behind the desk just told her to put on whatever face she wanted since it the whole point was to recognize her face. So, she chose the simple face she usually wore. A normal look where she simply looked at the camera, looking almost curious with how her eyebrows were slightly moved up and her mouth stayed still in non-smiley way.

Now, her ID was tucked away tightly in her wallet. She was going to save the picture taking for when she was in the bus.

When she told her family that she was going to be taking the Provisional Licensing Exam, they were excited to hear about the results. Her brother was a tad bit worried since he didn't know the contents of the test while her mother and father were confident that she was going to pass the test.

Mizuha was one of the first students of Class 1-A to be done with her ID. Aizawa instructed Uraraka, Jiro, Kaminari and Kirishima (who were lined up with her) to wait for the others where they could see them so that he wouldn't need to go searching for them.

Right now, Mizuha was sitting on a bench between Uraraka and Kirishima outside, slouching in her seat and looking up and the orange sky.

"I can't wait to just… lie down." Mizuha muttered while watching a lone cloud float. She was enjoying the nice breeze the afternoon was offering.

Kirishima hummed and leaned back in his seat, proudly holding up his ID. "I'm pooped but it was definitely worth it."

Uraraka sighed, "And school starts tomorrow." she pointed out.

Kaminari grabbed his head in frustration, "Ugh, don't remind me!" he whined, "Math with Kishokei-sensei is so hard!"

Jiro put away her license in her bag. "I wonder what Aizawa-sensei has planned for us…"

 _I hope Togata did well on his exam._

…

…

…

It didn't take too long for the rest of their class to join them outside. When Todoroki emerged from the building, Mizuha made it her job to avoid eye contact with the boy. Yes, she was still feeling a little peeved about earlier but also because she didn't know how to face him after blowing up the way she did. When she recalled how she just exploded in anger, she was starting to have doubts about whether or not she went too far. That was the right thing to do, right? She needed to make them stop.

She was feeling a bit guilty even though she wasn't supposed to.

Mizuha rubbed her temple, feeling frustrated with herself. She was avoiding stuff again. Great.

Meanwhile, Todoroki didn't mind. It was fine if she needed more time to cool off. He figured they could talk, just the two of them, back at the dorm anyway.

Yoarashi said a few words to Todoroki (something about how he looked forward to seeing him even though he still didn't like him) before running off and joining his school mates. From afar, Mizuha could see that irritating boy, Ikari Shinketsu, sticking his tongue out at her and then grinning. Byakuren had to stop her before she flipped her middle finger in the air, saying something about how she needed to go back to being more chill.

So, instead, she just narrowed her eyes at him which earned her an amused smile from the wine colored haired boy.

Aizawa looked over his students, mentally counting the numbers to make sure he wasn't about to leave one behind. He made sure to double check just in case he skipped over Mineta.

"Alright, we're going back now. Let's go." he said with his usual tone.

"Eraser!"

The black haired homeroom teacher turned around and found Miss Joke walking up to him with her class following closely behind her. The first row of students behind her were just like the ones from this morning. Nakagame, Shindo, Makabe and Toteki. The ones that were standing behind Aizawa were Kirishima, Ashido, Hyoumei and Kaminari.

"Since we've got this chance, do you want to do a joint practice sometime?" the green haired woman suggested.

"Yeah," he nodded, "that might be good."

The two teachers walked off to the side for a moment to most likely to talk about the details of said joint practice.

"Oh, that's something that I could look forward to!" Byakuren said excitedly from behind Mizuha.

"Ooh! I'd love to go and check out U.A.'s campus if we did!" Nakagame said, all bubbly.

"It would be a good experience." Shu smiled at Byakuren and Mizuha. It wouldn't hurt to visit his sister at her own school if he had time.

"They're second years…" Mineta muttered worriedly.

Kirishima grinned and then punched his fist into his palm, "So? We took on seconds years today!"

Mizuha tiredly turned her head to the side and yawned into the back of her right hand. Yeah, she was getting really tired now. She should probably sleep in the bus on the way back. Her finger rose up to her right eye and rubbed it to try and keep away drowsiness.

"Shu, let's exchange numbers real quick!" Byakuren suggested when moved to the front where Shu was.

Mizuha watched as the boys held up their phones together and copied each other's numbers into their contacts. It was a nice warming sight for her. She could almost picture their younger selves hovering that one toy helicopter they saw through the window when they were walking back from school. It brought a small nostalgic smile to her face.

 _Mizuha was held back when someone pulled her arm back. She looked behind her and found Mokuen using her other hand to motion it in approaching gesture, telling her to come closer to her._

 _"My brother is also taking the exam."_

 _Mizuha gaped at her, "… Shu is?" she moved away from Mokuen who already removed her hand off her arm._

 _The other girl grinned, "I think it would be cool if you guys saw each other face-to-face." she said before slipping away into the crowd of her own class._

Mizuha shut her eyes briefly. _Yeah, it was good that we saw each other. We somehow bridged the five-year gap in our own way. It's not perfect but it's getting there._

When Mizuha opened her eyes, she turned them away from the two boys and set her sights on the people in front of her. To her surprise, she found Shindo in front of her and he was also looking at her. He only smiled a friendly smile, putting up his usual polite face. Her anxiety suddenly dialed up to thirty percent. She sighed and just dropped her sight on that little crack in the pavement.

Then, a pair of shoes and dark brown pants entered her sights. She lifted an eyebrow and looked at her person in the face. She saw Shindo pointing at his face, at the spot beneath his left eye.

"What?"

"You got something on your face."

Mizuha mirrored his hand and brushed her cheek with her forefinger. Then she looked at him for confirmation.

He shook his head, "Not quite." he said before reaching his hand up to her face. Cautiously, she stepped back but was stopped when he held her in place. His hand was firmly holding her arm. Her eyes darted from his hand to his face, looking at him suspiciously.

"Relax. Don't move."

She wasn't expecting his next move.

He gently but swiftly brushed his thumb underneath her right eye. Then he pulled away just as fast and held up his thumb up in front of her. There, on the edge of the pad of his thumb, was a single eyelash. It probably came off when she was rubbing her eye.

"There we go."

 _Th-This guy...!_

A guy she just met just touched her face and it wasn't because of some professional reason. THE HELL?!

He casually blew it off his finger.

Ashido silently screamed, Kirishima's eyes widened, Byakuren and Shu's jaw dropped, and almost everyone was staring at the two.

It was brief, but she saw his polite smile turn into a teasing smirk.

Her eye twitched.

The pink girl standing next to her exploded, "MIZUUUUUUUUHAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Mizuha winced and covered her ears.

* * *

 **Now that the Provisional License Exam Arc is done, we'll slowly move onto the Internship Arc.** **I won't be finishing the next Arc until the anime finishes it. The reason for that is because I use both the anime and the manga to write the chapters since things tend to be removed or added in the anime sometimes.**

 **Oh and about Shindo, I thought it wasn't a bad idea to make him interact with Mizuha~**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I'm looking forward to your reviews!**


	23. Chapter 23: Back To The Routine

Byakuren stared at the girl next to him.

Mizuha was sitting next to the window and was simply gazing outside with her headphones over her head. She looked rather calm in her seat. But he had a feeling she was a little taken back by what happened ten minutes ago.

The faint blush on her face said so.

…

…

…

 _After he finished setting up Shu's number into his contacts, he held out his phone and showed the older boy his number so that he could copy it. When Shu was starting to take down the first two digits, he noticed a student from Ketsubutsu walking up to Mizuha. He lifted a brow and looked over his shoulder curiously. It was Shindo._

 _Right, about that guy. Why was he staring at his friend earlier? That was weird._

 _It seemed like Byakuren was the only one who was aware of what was going on for a while. U.A.'s students were talking to each other about the joint practice and the Ketsubutsu students were doing the same, all too busy to notice the duo._

 _Shindo pointed at his face and said something which made her imitate his movements. Then she paused and lowered her hand and just stared at him. The dark haired boy shook his head and lifted his hand up to her face, causing her to take a step back with a bewildered look on her face, and Shindo followed before holding her arm with his other hand to keep her still._

 _Kirishima, who was talking with Kaminari, saw Shindo in front of Mizuha and noticed that he was particularly close to her face. Confusion was written all over his face when he saw Shindo reach a hand up to her face. This caused a few of his classmates to turn their heads and stare at what he was looking at._

 _Shu also turned to look since he noticed that Byakuren wasn't paying attention to what he was saying._

 _To everyone's surprise, they saw Shindo brush his thumb on Mizuha's face and then pull away. The second year smiled and held up his thumb in front of her._

 _"There we go."_

 _Then he lightly blew on his thumb, sending whatever was on his thumb flying to the ground._

 _Needless to say, people were wondering surprised by what just happened. That included Mizuha herself because you could see that her mouth was left open and she stared at the boy like he just committed a forbidden act. Ashido silently screamed, Kirishima's eyes widened, Byakuren and Shu's jaw dropped, and almost everyone was staring at the two._

 _Obviously, Ashido was the first one to react verbally._

 _"MIZUUUUUUUUHAAAAAAAAAAA!"_

 _The platinum blonde haired girl only winced and covered her ears from her shout._

 _Shu pulled away Shindo by the collar and stared at him with disbelief, "Dude?! The heck was that?!"_

 _"Hmm? What are you talking about?"_

 _"Don't even—"_

 _"Yo-kun?!" Nakagame started patting his shoulder excitedly, wanting to know what was up._

 _Meanwhile, Byakuren and Kirishima went over to Mizuha. They both went to assess the current mental state of the girl who finally lowered her hands and was staring at Shindo absently._

 _Byakuren waved a hand in front of her face, "Hey! Mizuha!"_

 _"You okay?!" Kirishima shook her shoulder._

 _It looked like she just broke._

 _Then they saw it, a delayed blush appeared on her face. Her face changed from blank to completely flustered. She shook her head in an attempt to get over what just happened and marched over to Shindo. Her finger poked his chest repeatedly and harshly, "Y-You could have just told me!"_

 _Shindo laughed lightly, "I kinda did but you missed." he explained, "So, I decided to help you out."_

 _He ceased her poking by holding up her wrist. As if she got burned, she pulled her hand away._

 _"NOT LIKE THAT!" Mizuha nearly freaked, her face turning almost another shade of red._

 _Oh yeah. That was the reaction he was hoping to see. It was very amusing to see her look so flustered when she was constantly looking relaxed. He saw her rub her face in what seemed like frustration. No, it was obvious she was embarrassed and was trying to play it cool._

 _He couldn't help the smirk on his face._

 _"Don't I get a thank you?" he said cheerfully._

 _Mizuha snapped her eyes towards him and scowled._

 _She raised her hand and harshly flicked him on the forehead before spinning around and walking straight into Kirishima. He stumbled a few steps back but she only followed. She didn't bother moving away from him, she just hid her face in his shoulder._

 _"Mizuha?" Kirishima tried, patting her back._

 _She shook her head against him and groaned. She was trying to hide herself away from the world for a while._

 _"… Yeah, you just threw her off." Byakuren said with a sigh._

 _Ashido ran her fingers down her face, stretching down the skin her under her eyes and groaned. "I don't even know who to ship her with anymore!"_

 _Jiro face palmed._

…

…

…

Mizuha did nothing but mutter inaudible words that only Kirishima could hear since she was hiding her face from the world. He said she was saying something about how Aizawa should hurry up so that they could finally leave. She might have even said that she wanted to throw water at Shindo's face. He wasn't sure though. When Byakuren walked up to the two, she decided to latch onto him. Byakuren had to fight off Ashido and convince her to keep it for when they got back at home.

The white haired boy looked back down at his phone and hid a grin behind his hand while choosing another song.

* * *

…

…

…

Mizuha groaned while trying to escape, only to get pulled back down by Kirishima and Byakuren who were sitting next to her on the couch, effectively trapping her. Meanwhile, those were really curious about what the happened, were sitting around her too. She was trying to tell them that Shindo was only messing with her but they weren't convinced. And having Byakuren tell them that he saw them talking while sitting next to each other didn't help at all.

"We're just fr— wait are we even friends?" Mizuha teetered her head to the side, "But anyway, we just met today and he messes with me! That thing you saw? He was _messing_ with me."

Ashido held out her hands, "You two were kicking butt together and talking like close friends—"

"Yeah. According to him." Mizuha interjected by pointing at Byakuren.

"He held your hand and touched your face like a damn prince!" she finished.

Mizuha shot her a tired look. "Are we even talking about the same thing? I don't know what you saw but that was him being nice… the face part I mean."

"Nice, huh? Yeah, no, I think he was interested." Sero grinned.

"That's what _you_ think."

"Well, no one really does that to someone they just met." Jiro said, "He definitely didn't seem like the type… unless…"

"… Oh god, not you too."

"Maybe he thought she looked pretty and used that as an excuse to get close to her?!" Hagakure wondered, her heart beating excitedly.

This made Mizuha laugh and wave her hand dismissively. "No, no. That's impossible." she denied, "I look like a ninja turtle."

"Ninja turtle? Don't say that because that's not true." Kirishima chided, pushing her head a little.

"Do you like him?" Ojiro wondered innocently.

"Um, sure. I mean, he's not bad."

"In that case, it wouldn't be impossible for you two have reciprocated feelings." Yaoyorozu said smiling softly while having her hands folded on her lap.

Mizuha grabbed her head, "What is going on?!"

It seemed like anything she said would just bounce off the wall they put up. Her words couldn't even create a little crack to convince them otherwise.

"Maybe his intentions were friendly and we're just overthinking it." Tsuyu pointed out, appearing like the voice of reason for Mizuha.

She wanted never wanted to hug the life out of someone until now.

Mizuha clapped her hands together, "Yes. Exactly. Besides, we can't contact each other anymore! I don't even have his contact info."

"You could always ask Shu for it."

The girl stiffened. Then she slowly looked at the white haired boy next to her who was simply looking at his middle finger's nail. She hit him upside the head. Kirishima grabbed her hand and stopped her from abusing him further.

"Ouch!"

"Calm down." Kirishima snickered.

"You deserve that for making things worse." she huffed.

"I'm just saying." he shrugged, "I saw him staring at you before."

Ashido gasped.

"Huh?"

"Maybe he liked you not because of how you look but because of who you are? Take a chance this time."

"Stop talking nonsense."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Ashido interrupted with her hands extended. She looked at Byakuren, "What did you mean by 'this time'?"

"Oh." he blinked. "Shindo would be the third person to be interested in her." He clarified, "And if so, she could at least try and not do something like she did with that first guy."

"Okay. Now, I'm interested in knowing what happened, especially knowing how Mizuha is." Kaminari said.

"Tell us!" Ashido urged, eagerly.

At this point, Mizuha resigned completely and just leaned her head on Kirishima's shoulder. She pulled out her phone and started playing a game, ignoring Byakuren. For two reasons. One, she didn't feel like stopping him this time. Two, what he was about to say was the truth. So why stop him?

"Let's see…"

* * *

…

…

 _It was mid-year of her first year in middle school. The students were quiet as the teacher spoke in front of the class, writing down notes on the board. The echoing sound of chalk on the board, the pencils tapping against the wooden desks and the occasionally faint tweeting of birds outside the window were the only sounds that could be heard._

 _Hyoumei, who was seated more towards the middle of the classroom, moved her right foot above her left while taking notes diligently. After finishing a word, she looked up and noticed how her character didn't match the one her teacher wrote. Her fingers dropped her pencil softly against her desk. Without looking, she reached for her eraser with her left hand and tossed it towards her right. Her right hand effortlessly caught it and gently erased her mistake. A strand of her platinum hair fell into her sight so she paused to curl it behind her ear before resuming her task._

 _Unbeknownst to her, a boy sitting behind her was watching her. His attention drifted away from the board when he saw her hand brush her hair back. He gripped his pencil tighter as he felt the familiar ba-dump in his chest._

 _Yamashita Shintaro. That was the boy's name. He was Hyoumei's arranged partner for a school project. At first, he was disappointed that he couldn't be paired with a friend but that soon changed. The two had to meet up at the library to work on the project. He knew that she was the lone wolf of the class. She didn't associate with anyone but that one guy from the other class. Kyouran. He thought that the other boy was her boyfriend since he kept seeing him after their working sessions in the library. He was always there to accompany her back home. When he asked other people about it, he found out that the two were friends from elementary school. That made sense._

 _But that made it difficult for him to be alone with her outside of school. He wanted to at least talk with her about stuff that wasn't about school work._

 _Because he somehow came to like her._

 _She was studious, very serious about what she did. She was respectful, and her lone wolf attitude only made him more curious about her, wanting to see why she was the way she was._

 _Maybe, just maybe, she could open up to him if he finally told her._

 _Today was the day, he was going to confess to her._

 _When the bell rang that day, Yamashita packed up his things and quickly made his way out of the classroom, tucking away the folded paper in pocket. He needed to hurry. The trip down the stairs was quick. He wanted to do this before anyone saw him, especially Hyoumei._

 _Their school project ended yesterday so he thought that today was the perfect day._

 _He gathered up all his courage and made his way to Hyoumei's shoe locker, mentally counting the lockers to remember exactly where it was. He stopped. He was standing in front of it. Yamashita glanced around to see if she made it down yet. There was no sign of her. He still had time._

 _With shaky hands and thundering heart, he pulled out the note containing his confession. His other hand opened her shoe locker and he neatly tucked it inside her right shoe. That way, it wouldn't go unnoticed._

 _When that was done, he closed her locker and made sure he didn't leave any evidence. Not that it mattered, she was going to find out it was him anyway._

 _Yamashita breathed out heavily and then went to his locker where he saw his friends._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Byakuren leaned against the lockers while grinning, "So, you up for eating at that restaurant?"_

 _Mizuha sighed and shook her head, "Fine. But we're not going anywhere after that. I'm tired from P.E… that class killed my legs today."_

 _The white haired boy fist pumped in the air when he pushed himself off the lockers._

 _Mizuha sighed while running her fingers in the back of her hair. She really wanted to go home and laze around, but sometimes it was hard to deny a hang out with her friend. Man, she was weak._

 _She turned to her shoe locker and opened it. She stuck her index and middle finger inside her shoe and supported her hold with her thumb. She pulled it out and casually dropped them on the ground, creating an echoing sound._

 _Byakuren noticed a piece of paper falling out her right shoe when it tilted to the side, spilling its content._

 _He lifted a brow and crouched down. His fingers picked up the paper and he opened it up curiously. What he saw surprised him._

 ** _Hyoumei, I like you. I don't like seeing you alone all the time and I want to be there for you. Tell me your answer tomorrow. -Yamashita Shintaro_**

 _His jaw dropped._

 _"What's that?"_

 _Byakuren stood up straight and held it out to her, "It's from that Yamashita guy."_

 _Mizuha took the paper from his hands and read it. And then she stiffened._

 _…_

 _…_

 _"Oh. I know what this is."_

 _"Yeah, it's confession letter. He likes you."_

 _She laughed and shook her head._

 _"No, no. He was practicing on how to write a love letter to some girl he likes in my class. He asked me if he could try writing one to me and I let him."_

 _It was amazing how she came up with a lie on the spot with a straight face._

 _Byakuren looked at her skeptically. "Really? Since when do you lend that sort of help?"_

 _"Does it matter? It's not like we're friends, so I thought 'why not?'." she said before folding the letter and tucking it away in her pocket._

 _"… If you say so."_

 _The letter felt heavier in her pocket._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Yamashita didn't have the chance to speak to her since he arrived late for class. Then, when it was break time, he tried to speak to her but the teacher called him outside. He grew anxious about her answer when he saw her leave the classroom to join Kyouran. They both went somewhere to eat their snacks together._

 _When the teacher was done with him, he practically dashed everywhere to try and find her._

 _He did. She was sipping on her juice box while staring outside a large window. Kyouran wasn't there. That was good._

 _"Hyoumei!"_

 _She froze at the voice and she reluctantly turned around. Yamashita stopped in front of her, hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath. Mizuha looked over her shoulder, hoping that Byakuren would hurry up and come out of the bathroom._

 _Yamashita stood up straight and looked at her. "S-So… um."_

 _Ah, hell. How was he supposed to start?_

 _"I saw you get called out by the teacher. Was there something wrong with the project we submitted?"_

 _Huh?_

 _"Wh-Wha? No, I was just called because I came late…"_

 _"Oh, okay. So, what's wrong?"_

 _He blushed. "Um, about the letter?"_

 _At that moment, Kyouran stepped out of the bathroom while wiping his wet hands on his pants. When he looked up, he quickly retreated back inside. He peeked from behind the doorframe. There was that Yamashita kid!_

 _He could hear what they were talking about since the hallway they were in was fairly deserted._

 _"Letter?"_

 _"Y-Yeah…"_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _He slapped his forehead. Of course, she was lying to his face! She lied to both of them! THAT LIAR!_

 _Yamashita played with his hands behind his back. "The paper in your locker." he clarified._

 _…_

 _Mizuha slightly tilted her head to the side and lifted a brow, "What are you talking about? What paper?"_

 _Yamashita dropped his hands. "H-Huh?"_

 _"I honestly don't know what you're talking about…" Mizuha lied convincingly. She even added the gestures and face expression. Her hand was scratching the back of her neck and she looked genuinely confused._

 _Byakuren darted inside the bathroom and then let out a silent scream, feeling the pain for his rejected brother. She was rejecting him by lying and playing it cool! How dirty!_

 _"O-Oh."_

 _"Was it important? What was it about?"_

 _Yamashita laughed nervously when he waved his hands in front of him, "It was nothing important! I just thought I put the paper in the wrong locker… It was meant for a friend." he also lied, "But it looks like I got it right! Haha!"_

 _Hyoumei slowly nodded, still looking confused. "Alright."_

 _Then, they both heard footsteps approaching. It was Byakuren. He was pretending to stretch his arms back. Yamashita took that as his cue to leave._

 _"Anyway, I'll see you back in class." was all he said before lightly running back to the classroom._

 _Byakuren and Mizuha watched him run. When they saw him turn and run down some steps, Byakuren took that as the opportunity to pinch her cheek._

 _"Oww!"_

 _"You cruel girl!"_

 _From that day on, Mizuha treated him like she did with most people. A stranger._

* * *

When Byakuren finished the story, Mizuha looked up and saw how most of them looked shocked and horrified. It was the blond boy who was the first to react. He shot up from his seat and started making his way to her. Mizuha bolted up from the couch while Kaminari only chased after her into the kitchen area.

Sero gripped his shirt, "… I feel bad for that guy."

Yaoyorozu held a hand in front of her mouth, "That was…" she literally had no words for it.

"You monster!" Kaminari yelled.

"You literally destroyed that guy!" Mineta screeched, feeling the pain.

Kirishima dropped his face in his hand and groaned, "Respect for that defeated soldier."

"What was I supposed to do?! I didn't know!" Mizuha shoved her hand on Kaminari's forehead, keeping him away at an arm's length.

"What did she do with the letter?" Ashido asked.

"She freaking threw it away."

"… That's bad." Uraraka nodded.

"Mizuha-chan." Tsuyu said in disbelief.

Mizuha moved out of the way and let Kaminari run head first into the fridge.

"You said Shindo would have been the third… What happened to the second one?" the invisible girl asked quietly.

Byakuren smiled. "Oh, that one. That one was actually better. He didn't want to pursue a relationship since he wasn't the type to and because the he was too shy. He said that he really did like Mizuha and thought about her a lot and said that, when we move on to high school, he hoped she would achieve her goals since he saw she had potential, and that she should smile more since she had a, and I quote, magnificent smile."

Mizuha took her seat back in between Byakuren and Kirishima.

"Well... damn, he really did like her." Sero said.

"And it's true, you have such a nice smile." Kirishima ruffled her hair with a toothy grin.

"... No, I don't." Mizuha denied.

Byakuren threw his head back. "And you know what's worse?! She still believes no guy would like her after that! Her self-esteem sucks!"

Mizuha groaned, "Okay, okay enough. Look, Shindo is… a friend. And he likes to mess me. That's it. Besides, relationship don't start," she snapped her fingers, "like this. It takes time, which I doubt we could have."

It seemed like that was enough to since no one said anything. With a relieved sigh, Mizuha stretched her arms. Finally. The interrogation was finally over.

"Fine." Ashido pouted.

Thankfully, their conversation moved onto another topic. It moved onto something way more exciting considering what just happened. Their licenses. They were all sharing their experiences and difficulties. And their whining about the new semester.

At some point, she turned her head to the side and looked in the direction of the front doors. She did a double-take when she saw a familiar face behind one of the big windows. It was her uncle Kishokei Eijin. He was holding Sho and pointing at the door.

Mizuha quickly got up and jogged to the front door where her uncle was waiting behind.

"Rrruuff!"

"Hey, kiddo. I got—"

Mizuha held up her hand, "Oh wait!" she shoved her hand into her back pocket and fished out her brand-new license. She held it up in front of his eyes while grinning.

Eijin stared at the ID in front of him.

"You said you would teach me once I passed! You promised!"

His eyes moved away from her ID and then he stared at her. There was excitement everywhere on her face. He shrugged, sighed and then smiled.

"Alright, I'll teach it to you."

She instantly hugged her uncle tightly who had to hold up Sho in the air with one hand. He wrapped an arm around his niece and ruffled her hair, congratulating her.

* * *

On the way up to her room in the elevator, Mizuha was feeling pretty good.

She passed her Provisional License Exam and now she was going to learn something new from her uncle.

Feeling tired was already out the window, she was feeling pumped enough to play videos on the night before the first day of the new semester.

"Sleeping late won't kill me." She giggled, "Right, Sho?"

"Mrrow?"

Suddenly, she heard her phone's notification sound. She got a new message.

Sho watched as his owner pulled out her phone from her pocket.

 _Togata? Uncle Eijin? Mom?_ _Maybe Shiran?_

When she opened her phone and checked out the messages. There was a single word.

 ** _Hello._**

"… What the fu…"

She didn't recognize the number. As if it wasn't creepy enough, another messaged appeared.

 ** _Oh, right. You probably don't know who this is._**

Mizuha was starting to get a little scared. What if this person was Light? He might have gotten her number or something—

 ** _I may have taken a look at Shu's phone while he wasn't looking._**

"Hah?"

…

…

 ** _It's Shindo by the way haha._**

Stiff, Mizuha nearly dropped her phone.

The elevator doors opened.

"OH HELL NO." Mizuha shouted before snapping her head up. Just as she took a step forward, she came face to face with a certain boy.

He blinked a few times.

"The hell's up with you, Mole Face?"

Bakugo was staring at her like she was crazy. He was about to take the elevator downstairs but when the doors opened, he was greeted by Mizuha who let out a shout while looking a tad bit frustrated. Her dog, who was standing next to her, only looked gave him a confused look.

"Nothing!" she said before dashing off to her room with Sho running after her.

"… I swear, she's getting weirder every day."

Once she was in safety of her own room, she groaned as she slid down against her door. Not only did she just feel like she embarrassed herself in front of Bakugo but that frustrating second year knew her number now. WHY.

 _And I just told them that I didn't have his contact info!_

Another messaged appeared.

 ** _How's your face? Still red?_**

Mizuha harshly threw her phone against her pillows.

* * *

It was getting late.

Some students were already in bed due to the exhaustion from the test while others were still talking downstairs. Todoroki was on his was up to the fifth floor to retire for the day. He was watching the numbers change. But he couldn't just head to his room just yet.

His finger pressed the fourth floor button and he was just in time.

He still needed to talk to Mizuha.

As soon as the doors opened, he turned and walked to the girls' wing and stopped in front of her door. He lifted up his hand and knocked on her door three times with his knuckles and index finger.

He needed to make things right. It might have been his imagination but he was sure that Mizuha was doing more than just be angry with him. She avoided him on the trip back home, and he let her. However, what he wasn't expecting was for her ignore him completely by not looking at him or giving him the chance to approach her. It looked like she avoiding him because of something else. It went on during the whole rest of the day. Aside from screwing up during the exam, had he done something to offend her? He didn't know. And he didn't like how things were.

She was his first friend ever since he started moving forward. He didn't wish for their friendship to be ruined because of something he did.

There was no answer. He blinked. That was odd. He was sure that he overhead her saying that she was going to bed.

 _Unless…_

Todoroki placed his palms on her door and leaned on it so that he could place his ear on the surface. He sighed an inaudible sigh. The sounds coming from her room were faint thanks to the door but you could hear the sounds if you listened closely like he was doing. He could hear buttons being jammed and he even heard her curse too.

She was probably wearing her headphones, again.

He moved away from her door and frowned. She might not hear him knock again if he tried one more time.

He looked at the handle and his hand hovered over it for a moment. Then he turned the handle opened the door, it was open. He opened her door.

At that same moment, Mizuha let out the second eep of her day and jolted in her spot on the floor. Her headphones fell off her head and landed her bed since she was sitting back against it.

"T-Todoroki…!"

"Hyoumei." he opened the door wider, "Can I talk to you?"

…

…

…

He stood in the middle of her room, staring at her with his hands at his sides. He was at least two meters away from her seat on the bed.

"… I'm sorry for what happened today." he lowered his head.

She didn't say anything but she was looking at him, showing that she was listening to what he had to say.

"I should have known better than to act the way I did during the exam. I disappointed you, you shouldn't even be going through the trouble of trying to stop us when you already had your hands full."

Just like with Shindo, her heart was pounding in her chest. She was kind of nervous of having a talk with Todoroki ever since she felt like she might have overstepped her boundaries with that outburst. Hearing him talk now was giving her mixed feelings. That meant he wasn't upset, right?

She brushed her thumb against the fabric of her bed repeatedly while looking at the floor and occasionally glancing at him. "You're right about the trouble part." she started, making him look up, "But I'm not _that_ disappointed. I'm actually more worried now since I heard the name Endeavor twice during the exam. And, I'm worried that you're still…" she moved her hand up to her neck and started rubbing it. "Letting your past control you?"

He was surprised, he wasn't expecting her to get angry and start yelling but he was expecting her to show a sign of anger. There wasn't an ounce of anger on her face nor in her voice.

"I was and I still am." he admitted, making her frown a little. "But it's something I really need to work on. I realized that thanks to Yoarashi."

Her brows furrowed and she bit inside of her bottom lip.

"Alright…"

"I'm sorry for worrying you." he added to his apology.

Todoroki was one of those she first grew to care about when she first started to open up. Her way of showing it wasn't obvious though. Her hand balled into a fist out of frustration. She never tried to help him and, right now, she didn't have any idea on how to help him if he needed it. His mismatched eyes went from her hand to ger onyx eyes until she looked away towards her dog's cage. She kept her gaze on her sleeping dog.

"… Is there something else I'm missing?"

She looked at him questioningly with a brow raised.

"Did I do something else to upset you?" he asked, "It seemed like you were doing more than just avoiding me because of the exam."

Her eyes widened. _He noticed that?! Dummy, of course he did. You practically avoided him like he had the plague._

"If I did anything else, please, just tell me."

Now it was his turn to look worried.

Immediately, she shot up from her seat and started waving her hands in front of her to dismiss the thought. "No! You didn't do anything wrong!" she lowered her hands, looked away sheepishly and stared at a corner.

"Then… why?"

"I thought I went too far, that I overstepped my boundaries, when I yelled at you. I-I know I was doing the right thing when I tried to stop you. But I was feeling guilty after I calmed down… I felt like I did the right thing but at the same time I thought I might have been wrong…"

It almost felt like she screwed up.

Much to her surprise, she heard a small chuckle escape him. Then he stepped closer to her and started patting her head.

"You worry too much." he stated. She couldn't help but frown at the obvious. "You did well." he assured before lowering his hand back to his side.

Mizuha suddenly felt a hundred times lighter.

Todoroki didn't expect her to just wrap her arms around him. He staggered back a little from the sudden hug, arms held out and his body rigid. She rested her forehead on his shoulder and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Thanks for saying that."

 _Oh._

He realized that she cared about their friendship just as much as he did. Her worries over something like this made him see that she was also a soft person at her core. She was _warm_. And having someone care about him like this was giving him a warm feeling.

Her hug ended as quick as it started. She didn't give him the chance to return it if he wanted to. She lightly pushed away and stepped away from him and smiled small nervous smile.

"Sorry, couldn't help it."

He hoped she didn't get the wrong idea. He didn't dislike it. Maybe he should have hugged her back?

He smiled at her softly, "Don't stay up late playing games. You should sleep early since we have school tomorrow."

Mizuha shoved her hands in her sweater's pockets and shrugged, rocking herself with her feet. "I'll be fine."

He shook his head, "I thought you said you were trying to sleep early?"

A grin appeared on her lips, "I never said I'd do it religiously."

"You're going to be exhausted."

"Didn't I tell you? I live sleep deprived."

"You sound too proud of that."

She only snickered when she walked around him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She gently turned him around and started talking shuffling steps as she guided him to her door. He saw her face leaning to the side and she was smiling, she assured him that she was going to sleep soon. She felt more complied to since it was coming from him, she appreciated his concern. She could probably sleep comfortably knowing that she didn't have to feel guilty about what she did. Yeah. That sounded nice.

As he left her room after he said goodnight, Mizuha peeked her head out in the hallway and simply watched him make his way to the elevator. She waited until she saw him enter, and just when he was about to turn around, she ducked her head back inside her room.

* * *

The next morning, Mizuha went down first as usual. When she arrived, she wasn't expecting other people to be up and moving like her. Bakugo and Midoriya were downstairs, dressed in casual clothes and wasn't getting ready for school.

…

…

Mizuha sipped her glass of juice as she sat on the counter, watching two boys vacuuming the floor of the common area.

"So, this is the punishment he gave you guys? Cleaning?"

Bakugo ignored her.

"Aah. It's included in the house arrest." Midoriya said before looking at her apologetically, "I'm sorry we woke you up, Hyoumei…"

Last night, Mizuha had miraculously heard one of Bakugo's explosions echoing in the night. It reached her ears despite having her veranda closed off. She ended up downstairs after she started feeling thirsty. When she got down there, she was simply looking up at the moon through the windows of the courtyard. When she heard the front door open, she got scared and ducked behind the counter and peeked up.

Aizawa heard her not so subtle footsteps and pointing his phone's flashlight in her direction. She squinted and ducked from the light.

 _"Hyoumei. What are you doing?"_

 _She held up her glass of water and swayed the fluid inside lightly._

 _He sighed and started walking to a door, "Hurry up and go back to bed."_

 _Her eyes landed on the two boys that followed after her homeroom teacher. Midoriya and Bakugo, followed by All Might who was walking behind the two. Her classmates both looked… battered. What was Bakugo's Quirk again? The dots connected easily._

 _"You guys were fighting?" she guessed._

 _Bakugo only scoffed, "So what?"_

 _"So what?" she frowned, "You woke me up that's what!"_

 _Midoriya gaped and stopped walking, "You heard that?! You must be a light sleeper…"_

 _All Might smiled at her and held up a hand, "You can go back to sleep without worrying Young Hyoumei."_

...

"At least it's just for a day." she said before hopping off the counter and to the sink.

"Actually… it's three days for me and four for Kacchan."

This made Bakugo vacuum the floor harshly.

"Three, four days?" Mizuha nearly let out a laugh, "I wonder how much you guys will miss during those days?"

Midoriya immediately stopped vacuuming the floor and stared at her. It seemed to have hit him. He was going to miss school and most likely fall behind the class.

"SHUT UP! Don't rub it in!" Bakugo barked.

Mizuha shrugged and walked away.

* * *

Just like with the closing ceremony, Mizuha didn't pay much attention to what the Principal was saying. Everything was mostly going through one ear and out the other. She shuffled behind one of her classmates and was about to pull out her phone until she heard something. She heard something about 'Hero Internships'.

Once that was done, all students went to their appropriate classrooms.

"Alright… we're back to our regular classes." Aizawa said after finishing taking attendance, closing the booklet in his hands. "A lot of unprecedented things happened, but you'll need to switch gears and focus on your duties as students. We'll be staying inside the classroom today,"

Mizuha rubbed her eye while yawning into her hand. At least she could take it easy in the student department.

"but this semester, you'll have even harsher training than before."

 _Greeeat._

Tsuyu raised her hand, "I'm sorry, can I ask a question? Can you tell us what the 'work studies' that came up earlier during the opening ceremonies are about?"

Mizuha lowered her hand from her face and straightened up in her seat. Now, this was a topic she was interested in.

"He said it was something many of the upperclassmen are engaged in…" Yaoyorzu spoke up.

That made Mizuha remember something. Work studies and upperclassmen. The keywords that triggered her memory. Her tutoring sessions with Togata. The whole point of tutoring him for the last two weeks was so that the school can let him participate in his work study. Didn't the principal say something about students in the Hero Course that were above first years would be doing that?

Her uncle explained it a bit to her before she met Togata. It was different from the internship she did thanks to the Provisional Licenses.

"I was planning to talk more about those at a later date, but… To put it simply, it's Hero work outside of school. A more immersive version of the internships you already did with Pro Heroes."

Uraraka shot up from her seat and shot her hand up. "Then why did I work so hard at the Sports Festival?!"

"That's true." Iida agreed once he realized the same thing, "If we have work studies, then even those who didn't get scouted at the Sports Festival would have paths open up for them."

"The Hero work studies use the scouting from the Sports Festival as connections. This _isn't_ part of a class, but an activity done at the discretion of the student."

 _… So, that means I'll be fine. I had a lot of offers on that paper._

"So those who weren't scouted at the Sports Festival would have a hard time lining one up to begin with. Originally, individual agencies recruited on their own, but there were many complications with trying to get U.A. students to join, so it ended up being like this."

Uraraka apologized for jumping to conclusions and took her seat after a quick bow.

"Now that you have your Provisional Licenses, you can assist in more real ways for longer periods of time. But there haven't been many cases where first years have received their Provisional Licenses. With the increased activity of villains, we are currently thinking seriously about your participation. Well, we'll have you hear more about what it's like and explain in further detail at a later date. We've got our own circumstances to consider."

* * *

For the first time, Mizuha was actually eating school food.

And now that she was eating it…

She felt like crying.

What the hell was she thinking when she didn't listen to Kirishima when he said the food was good?!

Byakuren and Kirishima observed her as she happily ate her food with a smile on her face. She looked like a happy little kid eating their favorite food.

The tip of her chopsticks stayed in her mouth as she paused. She looked at Byakuren in front of her who was chuckling, and next to her where Kirishima was grinning. Her posture became rigid and she slowly pulled her utensils away from her mouth. The tip of her tongue darted out from between her lips and licked the corner of her upper lip.

"Better than those damn waffles, right?" Byakuren chortled before taking some of his rice.

"You look so cute eating like without a care in the world." Kirishima poked her cheek, enjoying the way she was being less timid.

"Don't call me cute." she leaned away from his finger.

When Kirishima first ate at the same table as Mizuha, he saw how she would try and conceal what she was eating while also hiding her face by looking down at her phone as she chewed. She was way too shy when she ate. After the Sports Festival, she didn't seem to hide her food, no longer preoccupied by how people saw her eat. And now, here she was, not caring one bit about others saw her eat.

"But it's good right?!" Kirishima gave her a toothy grin.

"It's good." she admitted.

"You're slowly becoming more human." Byakuren joked as he finished the rest of his food.

"I _am_ human."

 ** _"Third year, Mirio Togata, and first year, Hyoumei Mizuha. Joker is calling for you. Please go to the teachers' office at once."_**

Both boys looked up when they heard their friend's name being called. Mizuha, who once again had her chopsticks in her mouth, furrowed her brows. Now? He was calling her now? Why?

"You're being called in with a third year?" Kirishima summed up, "Did you get into a fight or something?"

"Did you make your uncle angry?"

Mizuha set down her empty bowl that she finished. She covered her mouth and held up a hand as she chewed with her mouth full. But then she nearly choked from how fast she was trying to swallow down the food. Her body jerked when she felt like something got caught in the wrong pipe. She slapped her other hand on top of her mouth, specifically on her other hand to trap it against her lips when she started muffling her coughs.

As amusing as she thought it was, she wouldn't like to spew out her food on Byakuren's face.

"Chew!" Byakuren held out her drink for her.

Kirishima patted her back worriedly, "Don't rush!"

Her coughs were suppressed as she forced herself to swallow down the food slowly and safely. She gasped when she moved her hands away and coughed a bit. Then she swiped her beverage from Byakuren.

"So, do you know why you're being called in?" Kirishima asked her. She nodded her head as she set down her beverage, "I have a feeling it's about that guy I was tutoring."

Byakuren tilted his head and quirked up a brow. "Why are both of you being called in? That should concern the other party more than you."

Her chair was pushed back when she stood up, "I'll be back."

At that same moment, somewhere on the other side of the cafeteria, Togata excused himself from his two friends and got out of his seat. He was on his way out when he noticed a girl jogging towards the same direction. He immediately recognized her and a smile grew on his face. The older student kept up the same pace as her and made sure to reach the point where their paths intersected.

Mizuha noticed a student coming towards her through her peripheral vision and immediately stopped before they rammed into each other. She was nice enough to wait and let them pass, but they didn't move. Finding it odd, she looked up at the person and she was taken back by the sight of Togata smiling down at her. Her stiff body relaxed and she gave him a tired look before she just continued walking with him following after her.

"First day of the semester and we're both getting called into the teachers' office!" he joked next to her.

 _Wouldn't be the first time I was called in on the first day of a semester this year._

"If you don't pass, _you're_ the one who is going to be in trouble. Not me."

"Ahh… stop saying stuff about not passing! I'm telling you! I'm super confident that I'm going to pass."

She chuckled, "Alright, then tell me how you felt about the exam."

He grinned and held up a finger, "I answered _every_ single question. So, I'm pretty confident!"

…

She sighed and rubbed her temples as they turned around the corner, "I suppose that's a sign."

"Be more positive!"

What he couldn't see was the amused smile that was hidden thanks to her arm. Oh, she had no doubt he was going to pass. He understood the material like she wanted him to. If anything, it was impossible for him to fail unless all the work he got right during their sessions was based on pure luck.

As the two left the cafeteria, two third year students were watching them. The girl looked at the other occupant of the table across from her and started patting his hand that was resting near the edge of the table.

"Ne, Ne! Amajiki-kun! That must be Togata's tutor!" she exclaimed, "She's also Kishokei-sensei's niece!"

Unlike the girl, Amajiki only watched the two leave the cafeteria in silence.

This was his third time seeing her but the number of times he's heard about her outweighed those three times.

Mirio spoke to him about her sometimes while talking about his tutoring sessions ever since they moved into the dorm. He kept saying something about how they were a bit alike.

Fat said the same thing since she did her internship with him.

* * *

Aside from Aizawa who was working with Present Mic (who kept insisting they should head out to eat already), Eijin was the only person in the office who was working something. And that _something_ was Togata's file regarding his grades and internship.

And that was exactly what he called them to the office for. He handed Togata his test while praising his hard work. The third year held it in his hands giddily and started looking at all good markings, something he often didn't see on his test papers, while allowing Mizuha to take a look. She was standing next to him and leaning her head to the side as he kept the test at a reasonable height since he was taller than her.

"See? I told you."

"Well, I knew you'd do well."

"Gah~" he slouched his shoulders a little and shook his head with a grin before turning to face her. With the hand holding the paper, he placed his knuckles against his hip and stared at her. "You didn't have to be so contradictory then!"

"I can't help it." she giggled quietly behind her fingers with a shrug.

Togata poked her forehead and she failed to push away his finger.

Eijin blinked. This was a sight. His primary goal was to obviously boost Togata's grades for his own good. However, after seeing how Togata was taking the initiative in getting along with her, he figured he would wait and hope to see these two really get along. It wouldn't hurt his niece to have other people in her life now that she was being more open. Togata seemed like a good choice.

 _This is good._

Just as Mizuha was enduring some hair ruffling from Togata, Eijin interfered by putting up his hand and clearing his throat. The third year ceased his action and dropped his hand back to his side.

"You can go back to lunch, Togata." He said before looking at Mizuha, "As for you, I need to stay for a bit."

Mizuha lifted a brow.

Togata eyes darted between the two relatives. He didn't know if she was in trouble or if they had some family business to take care of. He nodded.

"See you later, Hyoumei! And thank you so much for helping me out."

If she had dog ears, she was sure they would have gone down. Mizuha felt a bit disappointed. There was probably not going to be another 'later' since they were done with tutoring. She actually liked tutoring him. It felt different compared to when she was with Byakuren. If she had to take a guess, it was the excitement that came with having a new friend.

Wait, were they friends?

"Yeah. No problem."

 _Hm?_

Togata tilted his head when he saw the dispirited look on her face. Then he pushed her forehead with two fingers, lightly.

She stared at him weirdly.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon." he grinned.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You'll find out soon enough~" he sang before walking towards the exit and waving his hand as he left completely.

 _Hah?_

After he left, Aizawa and Present Mic were also leaving the office. Eijin waved them off as Present Mic announced that they were heading out, leaving the uncle and the niece alone.

…

…

Eijin leaned back in his seat, propped up his right foot onto his left knee crossed his arms. Mizuha only stood in front of her uncle with her hands shoved in her pockets, wondering what he wanted with her.

"I have an hour and a half available today and I could use that time to start teaching you."

Her eyebrows rose a bit.

"But I figured you might be a little tired or lazy after this whole day is over, but—"

"I wanna start!" she nodded with a tiny smile on her face, trying her best to mask her excitement.

Eijin looked at her skeptically, "Are you sure? I don't want any half-assed training."

At that moment, she thanked Todoroki in her mind a million times for telling her to go to bed early. As good as she was at surviving on two or three hours of sleep, she knew she wouldn't be able to last for whatever he was planning to do.

"I'll be fine! I swear!"

His right foot dropped back on the floor, creating an echoing sound in the office. He moved away from the backrest of his seat and leaned forward to stare at her face, her eyes especially. She merely stared back and did him a favor by slouching and letting her arms swing as they dangled.

"Alright. Meet me in the same gym after you change out of your uniform."

* * *

After school, she disappeared from the classroom. She quickly made her way out of the school and jogged back to the dorm to get ready for her training session with her uncle. Ever since he offered to start right away, she was feeling restless and was excited for the day to end.

Her mood might have been soured when Midnight announced the groups for the class project though. She was working with Bakugo. She was working with the guy who didn't even know what was going on and who wasn't going to catch up until he was released form house arrest. The class was also forbidden from telling Midoriya and Bakugo about any school related matters. It was their punishment.

Bakugo was paired with Mizuha, and Iida was paired with Midoriya.

Thankfully, their project wasn't due just yet. She gave them more than enough time to prepare.

Still, she felt slightly irritated that she was paired with him.

When she entered the dorm, Bakugo was the nearest person by the door and looked at her with a scowl. She returned his scowl with a sigh and an annoyed look before walking away from him with a slouching posture.

It was so obvious to him that the sight of him made her react this way.

"What's your problem?!" he held up the dust pan, scaring Midoriya who was passing by.

"K-Kacchan?!"

She didn't answer him and just went up to her room to change.

* * *

"So, these aren't really ultimate moves. They just really come in handy when you're in need of speed or in need to avoid danger."

"Yeah, I know."

Eijin pulled out a black marker and removed the top with his less dominant hand. Then he started drawing out a picture that represented the steps of Point Warping with basic stick man figures.

"So, Point Warping is basically what it sounds like. You warp to a designated point but that point must be within your range. You _can't_ just decide to warp from the school to Mt. Fuji. It has to be at a reasonable distance, preferably something within your sights. Of course, the distance will depend on the amount of training you do to get your body used to it."

Mizuha scratched the back of her head, "So, like, can my body turn into water or something?"

"Yes and no. You basically envelope your body in water and it _somehow_ forces it to become water, but _only_ for a moment."

When she tried thinking about her brother as an example, she remembered how he used to do it. She remembered that same memory where he tried to impress a kid by trying to fetch his soccer ball on the street. It happened quick since he was so used to doing it. His body became covered in a layer of water and he made some water land next to the ball, and he warped next to it. She was sure he didn't get a good hold on landing since he slammed his face into the ball.

And instead of being drenched, he was just moist.

"So… I can't just decide to become water and try to maintain that in an ocean right?" she said with a laugh. She was kidding about that one… but the idea _did_ seem pretty cool.

She'd be like water spy—

"Your water is more of a tool than a part of you. You should _not_ be making it a part of you." Eijin explained. "So, no, you can't, unless you want to lose parts of your body."

Horrified, Mizuha stepped back held her arms.

"You can do it many times, but has a limit— no, you have to limit it to be precise. If you don't, you'll get really dizzy and give yourself a headache." he said while tapping his temple with his finger. "It's not something you should entirely depend on."

 _Yeah, 'cause I can ride on a tide of water or even ice._

"What about Phasing?" she cocked her head to the side.

Eijin closed his marker and shook his head, "We'll save that for after you learn Point Warping. It'll be easier for you when you do."

"Oh, okay…" she put her hands in her sweater pockets.

He tossed the paper and marker on the ground, and he turned towards the center of the gym. He placed a hand on her back and guided her to walk with him.

"We'll start now and not waste anymore time."

* * *

The two days were… frustrating. She was able to train with her uncle for the past two consecutive days. However, after their second session, he told her that he couldn't personal help her out since he had school related matters to attend to. He was busy with his own schedule. What frustrated her was the slow and practically non-existent progress she was making. She couldn't force her body to momentarily become water. Instead, she usually got drenched in water as her uncle watched her from afar while drinking a soda. He only added a few pointers here and there, but ultimately refused to help her find the answer to make her life easier.

She'd end up with frizzy hair by the time she returned to the dorm thanks to water evaporation.

So, when the third day started, she found herself being a little grumpy since she couldn't make more progress. She knew she could practice by herself, but having her uncle nearby was more beneficial if there were any problems or concerns she had.

She sighed heavily in her seat and set her forehead on her desk while Midoriya apologized to everyone for the inconvenience.

Her excitement about learning Point Warping was slowly dying.

"In your seats everyone." Aizawa's voice interrupted.

Mizuha felt and heard her classmates running back to their seats with haste. With a frown, she pulled herself upright but not completely. She leaned her body towards the left side of her desk while propping up her head with her arm.

"Now that Midoriya is back, we'll go into more detail about the work studies." He said before turning his attention to the door. "Come on in."

Mizuha blinked and furrowed her brows. She flickered her eyes to the door as she watched it slide open, curious about the guest.

"We'll have people who experienced it first hand tell you about how these are different from the internships. Listen carefully."

Mizuha watched with slight disinterest (thanks to her mood) as the people started walking in. The first person to walk through the door was smiling with his tongue poking out and sticking up. He had bright blue eyes and blonde hair styled in a cow…lick…

 _Wait._

 _WAIT._

 _WHAT THE FUCK?!_

Mizuha's body sat upright as she gaped, watching Togata march his way into her classroom with two people following closely behind. The second was a girl with long light blue hair and the third was slouching as he walked, that one had messy dark hair and… noticeable pointy ears…

 _Oh come on..._

"They're taking time out of their busy schedules to be here, so give them you full attention."

Oh. They definitely had her attention now.

"The three third years at U.A. who stand at the top of all U.A. students— Also known as the Big Three."

* * *

 **It's the week of November 21! I already mentioned it in Aloof Hero CHP 20 what that date meant.**

 **So...**

 **I was planning on making a birthday chapter for Mizuha and Byakuren. But, I figured I should just make one when the story actually reaches fall. It seems like a better idea instead of just inserting it randomly.**

 **AND ya'll really seem to like Shindo in the last chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed the Shindo and Mizuha interactions. I'll definitely make sure there'll be more in the future! XD**

 **I'll see you guys in the next chapter! I look forward to your reviews!**


	24. Chapter 24: With The Big Three

Her eyebrows knit together when she kept her attention on the three third years, the tallest on in particular. Togata was standing there with a smile on his face.

Aizawa looked at the three students, "Okay, can you please introduce yourselves briefly?" he leaned forward a bit to address the farthest student. "Let's start with Amajiki."

Mizuha's eyes shifted from Togata to Amajiki who seemed to stiffen at his name. He blinked and briefly looked down at the ground for a moment. Then he looked up and glared at all first-year students.

Hyoumei leaned her head back when she saw it. The first thing she thought was: why the intense glare? Second, what did they do?

Then, she saw his mouth quiver and his eyebrows started coming together. He lowered his head a little. "It's no good. Mirio, Hado… Even if I look out on them imagining that they're potatoes, everything other than their heads remain human." his body was shaking now. "I still can't see them as anything but human. What should I do? I can't… say anything… My mind's blank… It's hurts."

Mizuha felt sympathetic. There were times in middle school where she felt like that during presentations…

Amajiki whipped around and took a few steps before fully hiding his face away by facing the blackboard. "I want to go home…!"

 _Aah, I know that feeling… but it's not that extreme for me._

Poor guy was still shaking even when he 'hid'.

She remembered how she bumped into both Togata and Amajiki during the Sports Festival. Now that she recalled the memory, she could remember Amajiki shaking a little after he apologized for walking into her, he did his best to avoid eye contact with her too. He also looked flustered when she ran into him the hallway.

His timidity was probably not just reserved for public speaking then.

The girl in the middle smiled and looked back at him. "Oh, listen, Amajiki-kun! That's called having the heart of a flea! Even though you're human! It's so strange!" then she turned to face Class 1-A, displaying more confidence compared to the first one. "This is the flea, Amajiki Tamaki. And then, I'm Hado Nejire. We were asked to talk to you guys about work studies."

Mizuha perked up. She was once again interested in the topic. She was actually looking forward to learning more ever since Aizawa said they'd resume at a later date.

She gave them her full attention.

 _Let's hear it!_

"Hey, hey, why are you wearing a mask? Are you sick?" she asked while leaning closer to Shoji in front of his desk. "Trying to look cool?"

"This is because in the past…"

"Oh! You must be Todoroki, right? Right? How did you get burned right there?"

"That's…"

"Ashido, if your norms break off, will new ones grow in? Can you move them? Well?"

Mizuha frowned and sweat dropped.

"Mineta, are those balls of yours hair? How do you get a haircut? Asui, you're a tree frog— not a toad, right?"

 _She's the energetic one in this trio, I guess._

Mizuha sighed as the side of her mouth tugged upwards a bit.

"She's not the most rational person, is she?" Aizawa deadpanned.

She saw Togata jerk before he quickly held a hand with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Eraserhead! I'm going last to wrap things up, right?" then he turned to face the class before leaning forward with a hand behind his ear.

"THE JOURNEY AHEAD—?"

Mizuha's eyes darted to the left and right side to see if the others were just as confused. Togata was looking at everyone, expecting some sort of call-and-response. It was so quiet that she nearly laughed but instead she chose to fake a quiet cough.

"Grim!" he finished. He stood up straight. "Alright, my call-and-response was a huge fail!" he started laughing.

 _Can someone just start talking about the work studies?!_

"Well, you guys look like you're not sure what's going on, right? We're third years who suddenly appeared to explain about work studies that aren't even required. That's confusing, right?"

 _No, I'm confused about how you decided to do your introduction._

"You guys got you provisional licenses as first years, right? This year's first years are really energetic, right? Besides, it look like my jokes didn't work earlier, right?"

"Wait… that was joke?" Mizuha muttered to herself while looking at the edge of her desk. She jumped a little when Togata threw his fist up and spoke a in loud voice, "Why don't you all fight me at once?"

"Eh?"

…

…

…

"EH?!"

"It seems _rational_ to have them feel the full weight of our experiences firsthand!" Togata grinned before turning to face the instructor, "What do you think, Eraser Head?"

"Do what you want." Aizawa looked at the class, "Everyone, go get changed. We're going to the Gym Gamma."

As soon as he said that, everyone glanced at each other before slowly complying. All the chairs were being pushed back as they stood. Mizuha was the last one to get out of her seat as she scratched the back of her head.

Togata put a hand on the shy boy's shoulder and patted him. He looked at Nejire and held up a thumb. "We should get changed too."

She couldn't help but stare at the third years as she walked next to Byakuren when they exited through the back door, still wondering why it was coming to this situation. Seeming like he sensed her stare, Togata turned his head to look at her when he and his friends exited through the front door with their teacher.

He beamed her a smile.

Mizuha's eyebrows furrowed and she looked in front of her.

 _I should have asked about his Quirk…_

* * *

Byakuren, Kirishima and Mizuha were at the front of the class as they all walked to Gym Gamma.

Kirishima looked surprised, "Eh? _That_ was the guy you were tutoring?"

"Yeah." Mizuha sighed with a nod. "When I got called in by my uncle with him… He left but not without saying that we'd see each other again soon."

Byakuren scoffed, "See each other again? More like fight each other." He zipped up his jacket as they entered the gym where they found the three third years talking to each other while Aizawa stood on the side. As soon as Togata heard them enter, he moved to the center and began stretching.

 _Oh, he was serious about fighting us alone. Okay._

She saw Todoroki separate himself from his class and he walked to Aizawa's side. Then he just stood there. Was he not participating?

"Um… seriously?" Sero voiced out the main question.

"Totally serious." He stretched his legs.

"Mirio… you shouldn't do this." Amajiki spoke from afar, facing the wall again. Everyone had to pull out their imaginary dumbo ears just to hear him. "For the work studies, it would have been enough for us to say 'we experienced this and that, and we learned much from it.' Not everyone is filled to the brim with ambition. We can't end up with kids who are unable tor recover after this."

Mizuha's brow lifted and she tilted her head. _Do we seem… that weak?_

"Oh, listen! Did you know?" Nejire called their attention. They found her with Ashido and she was playing with her horns. "In the past there was a student who got so frustrated the student quit being a hero, and that caused all sorts of problems. Did you know that? It was real bad, right Togata? If you don't think things through properly, this'll be rough. Really tough."

"Please wait." Tokoyami spoke up before the fight could even start. "We've fought against Pros before, albeit with handicaps."

Kirishima stepped up, "And we've fought with villains before, too." he added. "Do we look like such weak small fry to you that you need to worry about us?"

Togata nodded, still smiling. "You can come at me anytime, from anywhere. Who's first?"

"I-"

"I would like to go!" Midoriya stepped up, cutting off Kirishima.

"Didn't expect you, Midoriya!" Kirishima gasped.

Byakuren nudged her arm. With a hum, she turned her head a little and noticed how he was leaning close to her.

"He said to come at him from anywhere… It's just a hunch, but what if his Quirk makes him able to defend from any attack? If so, we should all attack at the same time to try and prevent that."

Mizuha looked at him and leaned back, a little surprised. "You can tell from just that? Aren't you over analyzing that?"

Byakuren rubbed his chin with his fist, "I don't know… because why else would he say that?"

"Then, let's see what happens when Midoriya attacks first."

The two friends nodded to each other and took a few steps back.

"Problem child! That's good! You really are energetic!"

"The close combat team should surround him all at once!" Sato suggested loudly.

"Well then, senpai, thanks for this kindness. We look forward to your teaching!" Kirishima said and that was Midoriya cue.

The green haired boy leaped forward and Togata just stood there.

 _Looks like Togata and I are switching roles— wait. WHAT THE FUCK?!_

Mizuha eyes moved from Togata straight to some random window in the gym. The third year's clothes practically _fell_ off his body. She could hear Jiro shrieking in the back.

Togata swiped his pants off the floor, "Oh, excuse me. The fine-tuning's tricky!"

Midoriya reached Togata and swung his foot towards his head, but his kick went straight through. Mizuha and Byakuren gaped as Midoriya landed behind the third year who glanced at him.

"You went straight for the face, huh?"

Ashido's acid, Aoyama's laser and Sero's tape went through his head and crashed into a nearby pillar.

"Okay, your hunch was kind of right."

Iida told the others to cease their attacks when he noticed that the third year vanished from his spot. "He's gone!"

"First, the long-distance fighters!"

It started with Jiro. He slammed his fist into her and she was down. Byakuren and Mizuha continued stepping away from Togata. They were staying the _hell_ away from him for now. The first was more of a long-distance fighter but he needed to think before rushing and attacking him. If he could figure something out before getting taken out, then his defeat wouldn't be in vain. The last was more than just a long-distance fighter but she needed to figure out what to do too. Seeing how easily he took down Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami, Aoyama, Sero and Ashido was enough to convince them that.

He was not teleporting because the time he took to cover distance did not seem to be one of teleportation. It only seemed like teleportation because they could not see him! When they would least expect it, he would jump up from behind someone and attack.

In other words, he's underground.

"YO!" Mizuha shouted next to Byakuren. "He's not teleporting. I-It's like Shu and Mokuen! They don't teleport. They move fast. He's doing same thing but he's underground!"

He took down Asui, Shoji and Kaminari.

"No, shit! I can see that now! But knowing that won't change anything if we can't _hit_ him!" Byakuren snapped, feeling the pressure as more students got struck down.

"Talking in the middle of a fight?"

They both paled.

Mizuha did not even turn her head to know where he was. Immediately, she jumped up and kicked Byakuren back. Her water appeared underneath her shoes and she a mini water explosion between them, creating a shockwave to push back Byakuren and herself. Togata appeared in the middle and the water just went straight through his body.

She fell back and rolled next to Kirishima. Quickly, she stood up and looked at her friend who she tried to save. Byakuren sent a powerful whirlwind in Togata's direction but the blond boy just… ran _through_ it without being blown away.

A second later, Byakuren folded on the ground.

 _… There goes my second brain._

And just like that, more than half of their class was taken down in what seemed like a few minutes. Those who were down were all unable to move and some were coughing.

"This a good chance for all of you." Aizawa hollered. "Make sure you get the most out of this experience because, Togata Mirio, as far as I know, is the closest to being the top Hero even including us Pros!"

The remaining students gaped as they kept an eye on Togata and registered what their teacher just said.

"You're saying this _now_?!" Mizuha hissed.

Togata glanced at the defeat students. "That's it for the long-distance fighters." He faced the rest. "All that's left are the ones who focus on close combat."

"I have no idea what he just did!"

"He's strong enough being able to slip through things, but he can even warp?"

Mizuha shook her head. "No, listen! He's underground!" she pointed at the floor.

"What?" Ojiro tensed when Togata got ready for another assault.

"He's 'warping' because he can slip through the ground…" she trailed off.

…

That was the answer. She looked up at and stared at Togata with her eyes wide.

"He's phasing through anything."

He grinned before dashing towards them and then he sank into the ground, leaving his pants flying.

It was such a simple Quirk. Nothing flashy but he knew _how_ to use it.

He suddenly came out of the ground behind Midoriya. The younger student was ready. He predicted his move and aimed another kick at his face. Togata did not try to avoid it. He phased his hand through his leg and brought his hand closer to Midoriya's face.

"But here's an ultimate move— Blinder Touch Eyeball Crush!"

He phased his hand through Midoriya's face and shifted in midair to land a blow into his stomach with his other hand. Midoriya dropped and was down for the count while Togata disappeared into the ground again.

Keeping track of him was impossible. He was too fast. They had no idea where he was going to come out and who was going to be next. Their defenses were nothing for him. There was no time to think. That left them wide open. Mizuha could only watch was the others dropped one by one, leaving her as the one of few students standing.

As soon as Uraraka and Hagakure dropped, Togata turned around and faced her. Mizuha scowled and took a step back. A string of curse words ran through her mind.

"And now, for the last one!"

"Oh, come on!" Mizuha groaned, not liking the idea of her being next.

"It's my turn to teach you something!" he said before dashing towards her.

"Teach me what?! PAIN?!"

He simply dipped into the ground, leaving her question unanswered.

 _Oh geez, here he comes._

Her eyes darted everywhere on the ground, panicking. She had to be ready to block or attack. But then she remembered how Midoriya's foot just went through his head. Attacking was not going to work. Was guarding going to change anything?

She glanced behind her, specifically at one of the pillars in the gym.

 _I'm not going down without trying **something** at least!_

"And now—"

Togata appeared in front of her and aimed his fist towards her.

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him. With reeled her arm back and swung it between them. The whole gym rumbled, causing Togata to pause. Then, a giant tsunami rose high, reaching the ceiling of the gym before coming down. Nejire and Amajiki panicked as they saw the water about to crash down on them. Aizawa thought she forget about her surroundings since her classmates were about to get swept away. He was considering erasing her Quirk right there until he saw her jump back.

As soon as a part of the water touched the ground—

 _If you can't see me._

"Total White-Out!"

 _Then you can't hit me._

The room was instantly filled with white steam. She focused on evaporating the water that was near people, the rest of the room was soaked since she was also focusing on a certain area of the gym.

"Smart move, Hyoumei." He praised.

Mizuha moved away from her spot and kept an ear out for her senior's movements. She evaded his attack just in the nick of time.

She wasn't about to try attacking him in this fog. He could probably catch her and just knock her down right there. With the help of her ice, she launched herself towards the pillar she was previously look at. She estimated its location and was able to reach the top. Unfortunately, the sudden movement and the chill from the ice she left behind kind of cleared the air.

Steadily, she stood at the top and dispersed the fog to see below. From above, she could clearly see all her classmates. Those who were taken out first were slowly recovering enough for them to sit up and watch the current situation, but they were still dazed. The others were still not moving.

 _Maybe they'll be able to get back up? I might be getting my hopes up though._

She raised her arm and created the same ice rods from the Provisional Licensing Exam. Her arm swung down and they rained down on Togata's spot. Of course, they just went through him and froze portion of the ground. He started running towards the pillar and then he disappeared into the ground AGAIN.

"You've got to be kidding me." Mizuha deadpanned.

The only thing she _can_ do was defend and run. Offense was not going to work.

"This is useless!"

As soon as those words left her, Togata appeared in the middle of the pillar.

 _Move, move, move!_

She knew she was just running away and trying to buy time fruitlessly. But what else could she do? Her mind was going haywire with panic. She could probably leap to the other pillar with her water. That could work.

However, as soon as she made up her mind, Togata's fist was already an inch away from her stomach. In a split second, her body turned into water and his fist went through it. Shocked, he paused for a moment and watched her suddenly warp towards the nearby pillar in water form. Her body was back to normal as soon as she made on ground, she looked flabbergasted at what just transpired.

For Mizuha, it felt like the water she was focusing on carrying her suddenly crawled up her body. She could only describe it as a cool sensation running up her back until she made it to the other pillar.

She was able to use Point Warping without even realizing it.

Nejire gasped next to Amajiki. "She became water! Ne, ne, isn't that weird?!"

Aizawa's eyebrows rose slightly. _Joker said she was not able to do it yet…_

As Mizuha snapped out of it, she remembered her uncle saying something about loosing her body parts. Alarmed, she shot up in a panic and checked herself. But her body didn't agree with her sudden movement. Her eyes narrowed. She was seeing double. She saw two Togatas.

She staggered and held up a hand.

"W-Wait…" she tried calling for a timeout when she remembered that the third year was still nearby.

Togata had no intention of pursuing after her. The way she was swaying as she stood atop a tall pillar was enough to stop him. He was getting concerned.

"Hyoumei—"

Mizuha was feeling dizzy which led to her holding up a hand to her head.

 _"… you'll get really dizzy and give yourself a headache."_

She lost her footing, causing her to teeter towards the edge. And then she fell. She was barely able to register that she fell since her head was spinning. With her free hand, she pointed towards the ground and was about to use her Quirk to catch her fall. But before she could use her Quirk, arms caught her fall in midair and then she felt the jolt when she landed on the ground. She narrowed her eyes as her double vision slowly started subsiding. Two pairs of concerned blue eyes became one pair as they stared down at her.

"Hyoumei, are you okay?"

It was Togata.

She groaned and shook her head to shake off the rest of her dizziness. "I'm fine. Just a little dizzy from that…" she blinked and looked at him. "Are you about to sucker punch me now?"

"Hmm… good question."

"Oh god."

Togata set her down and steadied her on her feet, and when she was least expecting it, he shoved his forearm into her stomach.

"Guh!"

It wasn't as hard his punch but it was enough for her to feel pain.

"I think you get the point of this fight but I'll still hit you so no one can call me out for playing favoritism." he beamed a smile before patting her back.

The point of the fight? She didn't see it, but she wasn't going to say anything. Being grateful for a weaker hit made her stay quiet. As she turned to face him, she noticed how _naked_ he was and immediately turned away.

"Hm, what's wrong?" he wondered when she started speed walking away from him.

"Your jewels are just hanging out for display!" she snapped before marching over to wear his pants were and literally throwing it at him, "Cover up!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"Hyoumei."

Mizuha whipped around when she heard her teacher call her. He was walking towards her so she decided to shorten the distance by jogging to him. He was going to use the time the others were using for recovery to ask her.

"Yes?"

"What just happened?"

Mizuha explained how she was learning to do what she told him she was scared of doing before the Training Camp. She was never able to do it before but it just happened to work this one time. She wasn't sure why exactly. All she knew is that she needed to move to the pillar behind her fast, and then she ended up pinpoint warping there. The point of warping was already set when her water touched the pillars. Basically, she was just as confused as her teacher.

Aizawa advised her not to use it during class exercises until she had a better grip on it, for her own safety.

She agreed. Missing a leg was not in her best interest. Neither was getting caught off guard because of it.

…

…

…

When everyone more or less recovered, they all gathered together near the exit as the Big Three stood before them.

"I tried to make it so you wouldn't be able to see my willy, but I'm sorry about that, girls." Togata bowed down as he apologized, fully clothed.

Out of all the girls, Mizuha felt like she should get a personal apology since she got a front row seat of his willy.

Togata straightened up and held his hands behind his back. "But anyway, you kind of get it now, right? Did you think my Quirk was strong?"

Sero, Hagakure and Ashido were the first to answer.

"It was _too_ strong!"

"It's unfair! Think about me, too!"

"You can phase and warp? What're you, some kind of hybrid like Todoroki?!"

Mizuha sighed and scratched the side of her cheek, "But he's not warping… I already said that he was just phasing all along."

"Exactly!" Togata pointed at her, making her jolt in surprise. "My Quirk is Permeation. What you guys called a warp was, as Hyoumei just said, me just phasing the whole time."

"How exactly do you warp?" Midoriya asked while unconsciously taking invisible notes.

"If I activate my Quirk through my entire body, then my body can go through _everything_. That means, the ground, too. That means I _fell_ underground. And then, when I release my Quirk while I'm falling, something strange happens. Apparently, things that have mass can't overlap, so I get repelled! In other words, I get repelled to the surface in an instant. That's how my warp works. By changing the angle based on the direction of my body or the pose I'm holding, I can aim for where I get repelled to!"

As he finished explaining, Mizuha then whipped around and a look at the pillars. They were obviously connected to the ground. He must have angled his body like he said and made himself eject from the ground in the center of the pillar.

Byakuren dropped his hand in his fist, "So, that's you were able to quickly catch up to Mizuha when she was on top of the pillars."

Togata nodded. "Yep."

"So you can avoid all attacks and move wherever you like in an instant." Tsuyu summarized, "It really is a very strong Quirk."

"No, I made it _into_ a strong Quirk."

He explained that he could never use his senses when he uses his Quirk, and about how there were many steps for doing a simple thing like phasing through a wall. His own Quirk created a disadvantage and he fell behind. He had to learn to use his head in a fight and make predictions. The place where he gained those skills was through his experience during his work-studies with a Pro Hero, and he wanted to demonstrate this experience in a fight.

"During our work-studies, we weren't just guests, but genuine sidekicks! We were treated like Pros! That's really scary. Pros will sometimes end up watching people die. But those scary and painful things you'll go through— All of them are first-rate experiences you wouldn't be able to have at school! I changed the experience I got during my work study into power and took the top spot! That's why I think it's something you should do even if you're scared, first years!"

 _Experience into power._

She looked at her hands and remembered the incident during her internship with Fat Gum. That type of situation was something she was supposed to be doing when she got a license. But while thinking about it and taking in Togata's words, she had a good idea of what he meant.

She knew she grew from that experience, even if it was just a little.

Her fists clenched and she dropped them to her sides.

Mizuha wanted to work hard to reach her true potential.

* * *

Mizuha flinched when Sho started to shake himself. She reached up and grabbed the blue towel she brought along with her. Before she towel dried him, she brought her face close to his fur and breathed in.

With a satisfied sigh, she grinned. "You smell good now."

Sho licked her hand.

As she towel dried him, her thoughts wandered back to the topic of work-studies. She was wondering if Fatgum was accepting studies for work-studies. She never asked him since she didn't know about it before.

But then she remembered Togata saying something about how his friend did his at Fatgum's Agency. The same guy that was too shy to talk in front of the class.

"Then I could do mines there…" she whispered to herself.

Mizuha wrapped Sho in the towel and tucked him inside the black basket she brought along with her to the shower. She heaved up the basket in her arms and walked out of the showers.

Well, whatever she chooses to do for her work-studies, it wouldn't matter if the faculty decides that they shouldn't be doing them. Everyone had to wait for the green light before anything else. They would get their answer tomorrow since the meeting was being held now.

* * *

 _Next Day – Friday_

"About the hero work studies that are like a more serious version of the internships, where you go to where Pro Heroes work and them… We talked about them at our faculty meeting yesterday, and almost all the teachers, including the principal, thought you shouldn't do them."

…

…

…

"WHAT?!"

Mizuha groaned, planting her chin in the palm of her hand. That was not fair. They can't just fire them up about getting stronger and then shove a big fat no in their face. That's like holding up meat too high for them to reach.

Kirishima leaned forward on his desk, "After we had that big meeting about it?"

"But think about why we ended up in the dorms, I guess that makes sense…" Kaminari said while playing with Ojiro's tail.

Bakugo shot up in his side with a mad grin, "Serves you right!"

"But," Aizawa interjected, "some think we won't be able to raise strong heroes with our current policies, so we came to the decision that first years will only be allowed to go to agencies with a good track record of accepting work study students."

 _Since today's Friday, I'll have more time to get things done on the weekend._

First, she was going to search for that paper that listed all her offers. It was somewhere in her room, hidden in some folder. Second, she would figure out which ones were not good enough. And then, she would choose which one she wanted to go to.

Seemed like a good plan.

Mizuha looked over her shoulder to look at Bakugo, he was not happy about not being able to do the work-studies.

A sigh escaped her.

She needed to work out a good schedule with that guy. They had a project to do together but they were both going to be busy doing their own thing. Work-studies and provisional license courses.

* * *

On the first day of the weekend, she woke up, ate breakfast pretty early, and then went back to her room to lie down again. After all, taking the time to take it easy after going through a lot for the past two weeks is time well spent. After a period of laziness, she walked her dog around campus.

She _really_ took it easy for the day. As someone who had the habit of leaving things for the last minute, she was going to leave work-studies for Sunday.

...

That is until she heard her name being called when she passed by the common room.

"Amajiki from the Big Three wants to see you." Aizawa informed her.

She froze with her juice box in her hand. What?

"Uhh…"

Everyone looked at her.

"Also," he looked at the girls sitting on the couch, "Hado wants to talk to Uraraka and Asui. Go see them tomorrow or something and hear them out." He turned around and started walking off, "That's all."

 _WHAT?_

 _WAIT! HOLD ON!_

"What could he want with Mizuha?" Kirishima wondered curiously.

"Maybe it's about the work studies?" Tsuyu guessed.

"No way! If so, I'm getting my hopes up!" Urarara shot up from her seat.

Hearing this, Kirishima then looked in Mizuha's direction before approaching her. She looked at him curiously, wondering what he needed.

"Are you going to see him now?"

"… Um, No?"

She didn't want to just waltz into the third years' dorm and track down the guy. She didn't have the courage to do that. Seeing him at school seemed like a better option since Togata might be around, she might feel a little more comfortable—

Kirishima grabbed her wrist and started pulling her along. "I think you should see him now! I'll even go with you."

Mizuha panicked, dropping her juice box, as the redhead started dragging her across the common room, "K-Kirishima! Wait! No! I don't wanna go now!" she cried, already feeling some pre-heat on her arms. "

"Ochaco-chan, let's go, too."

"Yeah!"

"Kirishima! I can do it on Monday or something!"

"It'll be fine! I'm going to be with you!" he reassured as they passed through the door.

"Kirishima!" she whined.

He knew he was just taking advantage of Mizuha's timidity, but he really needed to try and find himself a place to do his work study. He wanted to go and ask Amajiki to introduce him to whoever he was doing his work study with. But he would also be helping Mizuha since she might just chicken out. It was like killing two birds with one stone.

Escape was futile. Kirishima kept a firm hold on her and was not letting her go.

…

…

…

Kirishima was the one who was leading the group to the third years' dormitory. When they arrived at the doorstep, Tsuyu and Uraraka peeked through the window to see if there was currently some people in the common room. While they did that, Kirishima took the initiative to open the door.

"Excuse us for intruding!" Kirishima announced as he led the others inside.

Mizuha almost paled when she saw numerous heads in the common room turn to look at the four of them.

"Huh?"

"Who are they?"

"The first years!" A familiar cheerful voice spoke.

Hado, who was sitting with her friends, stood up and waved at them. Then, Mizuha saw a person pop up from behind a couch. Togata. Oh, she already felt somewhat calmer now.

"Nejire-senpai, we heard that you want to speak with us." Uraraka spoke first.

"Oh, right! I wanted to talk to you two about work study! I want to recommend you two!" She said while approaching them. Togata was following after her, knowing why Mizuha must be at his dorm.

"Hey, Hyoumei!"

"Hi."

He smiled and put his hands on his hips, "You're looking for Tamaki, right?"

"… Uh—"

"Yes, she is!" Kirishima answered for her just in case she denied.

Horrified, she gaped at the redhead.

If Togata figured her out properly, then she was feeling just as anxious as Tamaki. Unlike Togata and Nejire, Tamaki didn't really think about recommending one of the first years to his agency. Talking to other people made him nervous after all. But things happened and Tamaki _needed_ to speak to Mizuha. He was nervous at the thought of it and he considered asking Togata to pass on the message since he already knew her.

Togata smiled at them and gave away his friend's location.

"Thank you, Togata-senpai!" Kirishima bowed down fast before looking at Mizuha, "Let's go!" He started marching to the elevator.

"But…!" she looked at the front door, contemplating her escape. However, Togata grabbed her arm, pulled her further inside and then turned her around. Mizuha looked over her shoulder and shot him a look. The blond haired student merely laughed when he pushed her lightly on her back so that she could follow after her classmate.

"Go on."

Mizuha gave him a look but only made a shoo-ing motion with his hand. Then she slumped and walked into the elevator with Kirishima. The boy pressed button that would bring them to where Amajiki was, and he leaned back against the wall as the doors closed. Mizuha was leaning back against the wall facing the doors, staring at her classmate. He must have sensed her staring at him because he turned his head toward her. She was giving him a tired look, making him grin sheepishly. She quirked up an eyebrow.

"Sorry for dragging you."

She sighed, "Is there a reason why?"

"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I wanted to ask Amajiki-senpai if he could introduce me to whoever he does his work study with."

"Really?" she blinked.

But then he placed a hand on her shoulder, "And so that you don't get too shy to do it." he added with a smile.

Mizuha pouted a little before shaking off his hand, "I said I was going to do it on Monday."

He shot her a skeptical look, "Would you though?"

"… Yeah, I think." She said while looking away, knowing that she might be lying.

Before he could say anything, the elevator stopped and dinged. They both looked at the doors as they opened. She followed Kirishima out the elevator and took in a deep breath as they turned to the boys' wing. Near the end the end of the hall, there were four students talking near the third door. The tallest student saw them and must have mentioned to the others because they all looked at the two. Amajiki was one of the four students.

"Amajiki-senpai!" Kirishima exclaimed.

The said boy stiffened.

Mizuha took in another deep breath.

The three other students took that as their cue to leave and walked past the two first years.

When Kirishima and Mizuha stood before Amajiki, the redhead stepped back and motioned with his hand for Mizuha to go ahead first. At first, Mizuha froze and didn't move for a second. She quickly snapped out of it though.

 _I was kind of hoping he would do the talking…_

Mizuha looked at her senior who was shyly looking at her through his bangs that hung in front of his eyes.

"I heard that you wanted to talk to me?" she said while holding her left arm. She made eye contact with him once but her eyes looked at the wall behind him after five seconds.

Her voice sounded so small despite being in such a quiet hallway. Amajiki _almost_ didn't hear her.

Amajiki held his right arm, "Fat Gum is inviting you to come back to do your work study with him."

This made Mizuha blink in surprise. That was it? She was expecting something else. But then she almost slapped her forehead for being stupid. Of course, it was just going to be about that. Why else would this guy even talk to her?

 _Welp, I can forget about looking for that list now. I got myself a place for my work study!_

"Okay, I'll go."

With nothing else to say, the older boy awkwardly nodded before looking down at the floor while Mizuha rubbed her sleeves against her arms. Kirishima looked at Mizuha, a little surprised by this revelation. "Mizuha, you already went to Amajiki-senpai's work-study agency?" he asked for clarification.

She looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, for the first internship." then she scratched her neck, feeling the irritation crawling up, "And now I'm going back."

At first, he didn't say anything but then he straightened up and walked past Mizuha, right up into Amajiki's face. "Amajiki-senpai, please introduce me to whoever you do your work study with!" he said loudly, making Mizuha flinch.

The senior stepped away and leaned back on the wall.

"Please. Please, please!" Kirishima stepped closer to him with each other, fully getting into his face.

Mizuha's eyes widened at how forward he was being.

Amajiki turned his face away, "Your spit—"

"Please, Amajiki-senpai!"

The platinum blonde haired girl looked around the hallway and noticed how the three students were still there. They were watching what was happening. When Mizuha looked back in front of her, she found her senior facing the other end of the hallway since his left side was now pressed against the wall. He was trying to evade Kirishima who was bugging him with his persistent begging. As Kirishima got closer, Amajiki started to duck his head.

 _Oh man, poor guy._

Mizuha hurriedly stepped in between the two, much to Kirishima's surprise. Then she pushed him back a little to give Amajiki some breathing space.

The older boy was grateful for that.

"Too close, don't you think?" she whispered before moving away but not before hearing Amajiki mutter to himself.

"I just needed to pass on Fat Gum's invitation… How did things end up like this?"

Heeding Mizuha's words, Kirishima stood at a reasonable distance but still continued bugging him. "Please introduce me, Amajiki-senpai! Please!"

Mizuha looked at Amajiki.

"Please!"

"If it'll get you to stop… then fine." Their senior said, giving up.

"Thank you!"

Once that was settled, Kirishima arranged the date and time for when they should all go to Fat Gum's Agency. Amajiki just went along with it, seeing as he already gave in. Mizuha just stood there silently, soaking up all the necessary information for the meet up. When everything was done, Kirishima bowed down and thanked their senior once more before happily walking down the hall. The girl scratched the back of her head and watched him go on ahead. Slowly, she looked back at her senior and found him looking at her too.

Awkwardly, she nodded and bowed down a little before jogging after her classmate.

Tamaki silently watched as the two disappeared around the corner.

He turned around to face the wall. He placed a hand against it and held up a hand to his heart, shaking.

"Scary."

...

...

...

"How was Tamaki?"

Mizuha sweat dropped. She pointed at Kirishima while he wasn't looking. "He got up all in his face and started bugged him to bring him to Fat Gum's."

Togata ruffled the back of his hair and sighed, "Aah, poor guy."

"... Yeah."

* * *

...

...

...

Eijin looked up from the files and gave the detective a skeptical look.

"There was barely any trace of his origin. Even with all the investigating prior to the raid in Kamino, we still had trouble identifying him. But we do _know_ that he appeared some the time after the disappearance." Tsukauchi explained.

Eijin looked back at the files.

"With your niece's description, and All Might and Gran Torino's descriptions, we were able to realize it after some time. We are 95% certain that it's him."

The educator sighed, "What about that other 5%? Room for doubt?" he dropped the files on the table and leaned back in his chair. He was staring at the information as if trying to make sense of it.

 _Seriously?_

He rubbed his temples with his fingers.

On the table, the files displayed information about a certain villain who went by the name Light, along with the information of a certain U.A. graduate.

* * *

 **Whew, this took a while but that's fine. I _did_ say I was not going to finish this Arc until the anime did. Nothing much happened in this chapter except for interactions (except for the ending), but that's fine too. **

**For the fight against Mirio, I figured it would go a little differently since one of the top three was in that fight. We didn't see how it would have changed if Todoroki and Bakugo participated and I like to think one of them would last a _little_ longer than the rest. **

**Tamaki and Mizuha. Anxiety-Team. That's all I have to say XD**

 **Anyway, I'll see you guys in the next chapter! I look forward to reading your reviews!**


	25. Chapter 25: Fat Gum's Hero Agency

**Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the last days of 2019!**

 **Here's the new chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was Sunday. Today was the day that Mizuha, Kirishima and Amajiki were going to Fat Gum's Hero Agency.

She actually told Kirishima that she could go on her own since she knew where it was, but he suggested they should all go together if they're going to the same place anyway. The idea of going by herself was to avoid an awkward atmosphere with her senior. However, having Kirishima around could make her less anxious about it. She could just pretend like she didn't know him. To her knowledge, that was her most effective tactic for trying to calm her nerves.

Presently, Mizuha was waiting on a bench near the exit of the school. They planned to meet up there (Kirishima made the plan) before heading to Fat Gum's together.

On her feet, Sho was resting on them quietly. The idea of making her dog tag along didn't seem so bad. He was a puppy, yes, but he was smart dog and often didn't try wandering away from her during their walks. She even tested him before leaving the dorm. He wouldn't leave her side no matter how many times she snuck away. He really wanted to stick to her.

She saw Sho's head perk up and he looked towards the left, making her do the same.

Kirishima was jogging to her spot while waving at her.

She did a lopsided smile and waved once.

"As usual, you're early even though we were going together." He said before taking a seat next to her.

"I left early to walk Sho."

Kirishima looked at the puppy between her feet who was wagging his tail at the sight of the newcomer, seemingly able to recognize him from their first meeting. Kirishima lowered his hand and started scratching him behind the ears.

He looked at Mizuha while pleasing the dog, "You're not going back to drop him off at the dorm?"

She shrugged, "We're allowed to bring pets in the train. Plus, I don't think Taishiro will mind too much… at least I think he won't."

"Taishiro?" he blinked.

"Er... sorry," she laughed a little, "I mean Fat Gum."

Mizuha stretched back her arms and rolled her shoulders back before slumping in her seat. Then she felt a yawn coming up so she covered her into the back side of her elbow. Kirishima heard her muffled yawn and turned his head to look at her, her eyes tightly shut before slowly opening when she closed her mouth. She lightly shook her head before blinking away the tears.

Kirishima's mouth curved to the side while his eyebrows curved upwards. _She slept late again, didn't she?_

When he pulled away from Sho and leaned back against the bench, without a word, Mizuha dropped head on his shoulder and just stared at the ball of fur. She stretched her arm out and wiggled her fingers in the air to play with her dog.

Mizuha having intimate habits was one thing he did not imagine her having, especially not with how distant she used to be. The first signs appeared back when they were at I-Island. Then it became more apparent to everyone when everyone moved into the dorm. The extra game console that Mizuha had up in her room was hooked up to the TV in the common room thanks to Kaminari's suggestion. When Byakuren would be downstairs playing a competitive game with one of the guys, she would drop by to see how things were going before trusting her back to his side before dropping her legs on the arm rest. Slowly, she started doing the same to Kirishima. He didn't mind though.

"Ruff!"

Sho looked at where Kirishima came from.

Kirishima looked in the same direction. Mizuha purposely slipped her head off Kirishima shoulder in a lazy manner and looked as well.

They found Amajiki walking towards them.

Kirishima stood up, "Good morning, Amajiki-senpai!" he greeted with much enthusiasm.

Mizuha looked at her senior, nodded once and then did a short wave.

Sho barked once more before padding towards Amajiki, who backed away a few steps before staring at the little creature with curiosity. The white dog started sniffing him before looking back at its owner.

"Cute…" the older boy muttered.

With that, they were off to Fat Gum's Hero Agency.

* * *

…

…

Needless to say, Mizuha spent most of the train ride sleeping against Kirishima's shoulder (no way was she going to sit next to Amajiki and carelessly drop her head on him). She chose earphones instead of headphones for the sake of the shoulder leaning. As she slept, Kirishima kept Sho on his lap while asking their senior questions about Fat Gum. After getting some answers, it became quiet between them until they arrived at their destination.

When they arrived at the front door, Amajiki entered first and held out the door behind him for Mizuha. She did the same for Kirishima and followed after him.

She recognized the woman behind the desk from the last time she was there. The woman looked up from the computer and set her eyes on the three students. A smile appeared on her face, "Hello, Amajiki."

Mizuha peeked from behind the third year.

"Oh, and Hyoumei's here too! I guess I know what this visit is for."

"Is he in right now?" Tamaki pointed in the direction of the office.

"Yes, he is."

With that, Tamaki nodded his head and thanked her before walking down the path leading to the office. Mizuha and Kirishima did the same as him and followed after the older boy. Sho gave one last glance at the lady when he padded after the three students.

When his doors were getting closer, Mizuha started scratching the back of her neck with a soft sigh. Kirishima, who heard this, looked at her and asked if she was alright. She glanced at him and tilted her head, "It's just… he tends to call me something in a joking manner… but I don't really want him to call me that _now_."

"Why not?"

"Because other people are here! And… and it's weird!" then she grabbed her face, "And it brings me shame and embarrassment."

Tamaki, who caught her words, started wondering if she had experienced the same torment as he always did. When knocked and was allowed to enter, he opened the door and walked in. There he was, sitting and eating Takoyaki. He greeted his intern with a happy grin and the moment he saw the familiar first year—

"Welcome back, wifey!"

Mizuha gave him a deadpanned look.

Kirishima and Amajiki glanced back at the girl when they registered the odd nickname, it was especially odd since there was no context. She could see amusement dancing in his eyes as he held up a waving hand. Mizuha smacked her lips and sighed a short one. She looked at her third year and nodded, then looked at Kirishima and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, you have fun. I'm going back to school." She said before slipping her hand off his shoulder when she started walking out the door.

Kirishima hooked his finger in the back of her shirt and yanked her back, "Come on, don't leave." he chuckled. She only whirled around in his fingerhold and pointed a finger at the Pro-Hero, "Stop calling me that!"

Taishiro only laughed heartily, "Not my fault you—"

"STOOOP IT!" she zoomed towards his desk.

* * *

Since Taishiro was the one to invite her to his agency, she got her paper stamped first. When that was done, she dropped herself on the couch in the office and watched from her spot as Kirishima took his time to talk to the Pro-Hero.

"I saw you at the Sports Festival!" Fat Gum said while smiling, "I welcome energetic kids like you!" he then pointed at the third year who was standing near the couch while facing away, "Tamaki always gets so nervous and ranks super low every year."

Mizuha discreetly glanced at Tamaki.

"Can we not talk about me?" he muttered.

"I did my internship with Fourth Kind, and he also said that the morale of the agency goes up when there are energetic guys around. But… that's all I am."

Mizuha looked at her friend.

"And I want to be more than that. I want… to become a hero who can protect, like Crimson Riot… That's why I kept pestering Tamaki to introduce me to you. I don't want to be pathetic and not act when someone's in trouble anymore."

 _Huh?_

Those last words he said. It brought her back to that moment in the empty hallway. The day she cried and let down her walls for Kirishima.

 _"Unless you know how it feels to do nothing and just sit back and watch as people get hurt because you're scared as hell to even move!—"_

Mizuha blinked.

 _"... you'll never understand what I'm going through!" She ended, breathing heavily._

 _Oh no… what the did hell did I know…?_

She bit her lip and dropped her head in her hand while it rested on the armrest. Her dog that was resting on her lap whined a little when he saw the distressed look on her face. Mizuha's eyes shifted to look at her dog. He must be familiar with all the worry she keeps radiating off lately. With her free hand, she rubbed his head to dismiss his own worry.

A loud clap resonated in the office, announcing the announcement of Fat Gum's decision. "Looks, like I got myself two new interns! You guys can come back tomorrow with Tamaki. Bring along your Hero costumes because we'll start right away!"

A huge smile appeared on Kirishima's face as he watched Fat Gum stamp his seal on his paper. Once it was done, Kirishima took back his paper and bowed down. "I look forward to working with you!" he said before turning to look at the two initial interns and shot them a happy grin.

Mizuha couldn't help but give him her own small happy grin. Imagining the difficulty of trying to look for a place for an internship was not something she could experience since she got hers easily. Back at the dorm, she could see most of her classmates whining about how the Agencies they visited was not good enough. Her dog hopped off her lap once he felt Mizuha was about to stand. Tamaki opened the door and started leaving with Mizuha and Kirishima following after him.

"Oh, and Micchan."

Mizuha looked over her shoulder.

Taishiro pointed at the dog next to her feet, "Don't make it a habit."

She looked at Sho for a few seconds before looking back at Taishiro.

"Don't worry about it. This was just a _long_ walk."

"Ruff!"

* * *

When they came back on school campus, Mizuha and Kirishima parted ways with Tamaki. The two were left alone on their way back to their dormitory. The afternoon scenery and the cool breeze around them seemed like a good time for Mizuha to speak her mind.

"Hey, um, Kirishima." she awkwardly said.

"Yeah?"

"About what you said back there in Fatgum's office…" she stopped walking and looked down. "You said that you didn't want to do anything when people were in trouble. It kinda reminded me of even when I said something back when I broke down…"

Kirishima sighed and then gave her small smile. He reached up for her head and affectionately ruffled the front of her hair, gently messing it up a little. "I think I have an idea about what you want to say." he pulled his hand away, "And you don't need to say anything."

"… Really? I mean… I made it seem like I'm the only one who knew something…" she rubbed the back her neck, "And that wasn't good."

He only shook his head and waved his hand. "Really. Don't worry about it."

Mizuha didn't say anything. She only stared up at him, still feeling unsure. Her hands went inside her pants pocket and her thumbs rubbed against her index fingers. The redhead observed her quiet demeanor for a few seconds before sighing. Without a warning, he threw his arm around her and started dragging her along with him. A yelp escaped her when she found herself stumbling a little after him.

"K-Kirishima!"

"I said it was fine, so stop looking like that!"

A few students walking looked at the two passing by, wondering what was going on.

Mizuha turned her head to look at him while she hunched and walked next to him. He only lifted his other hand and lightly flicked her forehead, making her narrow her eyes at him.

"Hey—"

"Besides, with the way you were back then, I didn't want to risk making the situation about me. If I did, I have a feeling that we wouldn't be like this," he motioned between the two of them with his finger, "today."

Mizuha gave him a weird look, "Huh?"

"You needed someone to listen to you and to talk to. You didn't need someone to talk about themselves. So, don't worry about it."

"… You sure?"

"Mizuha."

"Okay, I'll stop."

With a boyish grin, he released her, "There we go."

…

…

…

"So, what's the deal with Fat Gum calling you 'wifey'?"

Mizuha groaned and ran her fingers down her face. She didn't want to explain the whole story, it was embarrassing enough to remember it… but to recall even further to explain… That seemed like a bad idea. Who knows, she might even remember something that she forgot. Some things are best left forgotten.

With her hands still on her face, she looked at her friend. "Do I have to?"

Kirishima shrugged, "I mean, if you want me to take that without any context… then—"

Mizuha dropped her hands and grabbed his arm and shook it. "Don't go assuming things, man!"

He laughed, "Then tell me!"

She cringed and released his arm. "But…"

He snickered, "So, when was the wedding?"

"Okay, fine!"

…

…

…

After she told him the story, he covered his mouth to muffle his laughter.

"Aw, that's cute." he teased.

"No, it's not!" she crossed her arms, "It's freaking embarrassing!"

* * *

The next day, with authorized absences, they went to Fat Gum's Agency with their Hero costumes. Mizuha ended up being the first one ready as always. When everyone was ready, they headed out together to areas that were reported to have some type of villain activity.

His instructions were simple. Listen to him when he gives instructions, follow your guts (he looked at Mizuha and smiled when he said that) and to smile and interact with civilians when they talk to them (he looked at Mizuha again and pushed the corner of his mouth with his index fingers).

"Fat! Come get some Takoyaki!" a man waved from his stand.

"Sure, I'll pass by on the way back!" The big Hero said while waving back.

"Someone stop that thief!"

At that shout, the four stopped and turned away. They saw a man pointing towards the direction they came from, identifying a man who was running with a plastic bag. He ran into a fruit stand, throwing the fruits out of their containers.

Mizuha moved her arm and her water raced towards the falling fruits, maneuvering its way around the civilians. Apples, pears, oranges and bananas all fell into the water and floated inside. Her group was already going after the thief so she didn't mind staying back for this one.

She walked over to the fruit stand and helped the owner place his stand back on its feet.

"Thank you, young lady. You just saved me the trouble of picking up my fruit." He smiled at her.

Mizuha nodded, allowing to her mouth to curve upwards a bit for the sake of appearances. She started putting the fruits back in their appropriate boxes since she they want to just dump them and risk flooding his containers. He started helping her out to speed up the process. Then, someone else started lending a hand.

"I should help instead of just waiting for them to catch that guy."

Mizuha looked to her left to see the newcomer putting the bananas back in place.

 _Hold up, that's the guy who got his money stolen the last time I was here!_

He seemed to have sense her staring since the young man stopped to look at her too. His eyebrows shot up in surprise when he recognized her, "Hey, it's you!" he grinned, "You're back in the area?"

"Uh… yeah."

"Cool, so I can count on you to help me out when I need it again?" he laughed.

"… What did they take this time?"

"Same thing. Money." He sighed.

Curiously, Mizuha looked in the direction where her internship team took off. She saw Kirishima running towards them while holding up the bag. She tapped the young clerk's shoulder and then pointed at her classmate. When he looked and saw the bag, he jogged up to Kirishima and started thanking him, Fat Gum and Amajiki.

The others pitched in to help out with the fruit stand.

* * *

After a while of patrolling, they decide to retire back to the Agency and call it a day. There were only two more incidents involving trouble. During one of those times, Mizuha was able to help out with catching one of them. They already left the thief into the police custody, so all that was left was to give their report.

On the way back, Mizuha walked between Taishiro and Amajiki, listening to the conversation without paying much attention. The Pro-Hero looked at his only female intern and wondered why she was being quiet. He was wondering if she was being shy like her senior, but even Tamaki was saying something now and then. She was just really silent.

"Somethin' wrong, Celsius?"

When the question was asked, she didn't answer. Kirishima and Amajiki looked at the girl who looked like she was spacing out. She blinked and moved her head up a little, her head looked up towards Fat Gum.

"Hm?"

Then it happened, something was starting to break free from her. She couldn't stop it. Mizuha started yawning a little but she tried to cover it up behind her hand. When she realized what just escaped her, she stared at Taishiro with widened eyes, knowing exactly what she might have just hinted. Taishiro started narrowing his eyes at her.

" _Celsius_."

Mizuha immediately started walking past Amajiki to stand in between Kirishima and him.

"Oi! Don't run away!"

She peeked a look from behind Amajiki's side and frowned. "It's not really what you think."

"I'll be the judge of that." He said flatly. "How many hours?"

"…"

" _Micchan_."

"Fine, five."

"That's still not enough, especially for a teenager." he chided with a disapproving look.

"Oof." Kirishima laughed in his fist. "Your sleeping habits are _that_ bad that your internship supervisor took notice."

"Of course, I'd notice!" Taishiro scoffed. "She looked like a raccoon most of the time!"

Mizuha gaped, "No, I didn't!" she pointed a finger, "You're exaggerating!" she said before shoving her hands in her pockets, "In my defense, I was getting a lot of school work done in advance to avoid doing them last minute!"

"There's no need to feel pressured about that." Amajiki spoke up, "The teachers understand what we're doing so they _will_ give you a little more time for your work." He explained while adjusting his hood. "It's a different story if you can't handle both at the same time though, take Mirio for example."

 _Oh yeah, I get what you mean._

"Amajiki-senpai is right! He's done this before." Kirishima patted her head, "So don't lose sleep over it."

She rubbed her right eye with her right finger and then nodded slowly like a sleepy little kid. That was probably for the best. From what she remembered, Togata said something about having to experience scary things during a work study like death. She should really take into consideration that sleep deprivation might be the end of her if she isn't careful.

"So, he knows about your sleeping habits? What about your eating habits?" Kirishima asked curiously.

 _Oh, for fuck's sake—_

Fat Gum paused, "Eatin' habits?" he repeated slowly.

Mizuha shot Kirishima a tired look. But it seemed like he didn't get the message… or he did, but he was having was too much fun with this.

"She doesn't eat a lot!" he grinned.

"Kirishima!"

" _Micchan!_ What is wrong with you?!"

Mizuha pointed a finger at the redhead, "He didn't phrase that right and he didn't use past tense!"

Her words didn't even reach Taishiro since he was in the middle of waving at the owner who called him earlier to eat some Takoyaki. He was marching over to his spot but then paused to turn around and start calling them over to grab some food, pointing specifically at Mizuha.

"Free food!" Kirishima said gleefully while catching up to the Pro Hero.

Amajiki stood next to Mizuha who was slumping. He turned his head a little to look at her, "He's not going to change his mind."

She sighed heavily, "I know."

* * *

While the boys had a reasonable amount to Takoyaki to eat, Mizuha had gotten three times more, much to her horror. By the time they came back to the Agency, the boys were done with their food while Mizuha was only half done. She was slow when it came to eating sometimes.

She didn't want to waste the food.

… her dog wasn't around either. She couldn't just toss him a Takoyaki for him to eat.

After she changed back into normal clothes, she announced that she was going to continue eating in the breakroom. And eating she did, followed by a food coma.

…

…

…

"Is Micchan still in the breakroom?" wondered Taishiro when he noticed how long she was absent for.

"Now that you mention it…" Kirishima scratched the back of his head, turning his head to look at the clock in the office. It had already been forty minutes.

"Tamaki, could you go get her?"

Said boy stiffened in his seat on the couch. He looked at Taishiro with a frown, "Why do I have to? She'd be better off seeing her own classmate…"

"Kirishima's not really familiar with this place like you. Go on, it's a simple task. She doesn't bite."

Tamaki waited a few more moments to see if Fat Gum would change his mind, but he didn't. He only smiled as he ate. Without a word, he got up from his seat and started walking off to the breakroom in a hunched manner.

There was a reason or two why he didn't want to go and fetch her. In no way did he hate her, but he just didn't feel like she was comfortable around him. It always seemed like she did her best to talk to either Fat Gum or Kirishima when she was next to him, trying to avoid communication with him.

"How is she like me?" he muttered to himself. "It seems like she dislikes me."

 _"You remember that girl you bumped into during the Sports Festival?! She's my tutor! She's super smart!" Mirio said with a huge smile on his face. He pulled out his notebook and started pointing at the problems he solved thanks to Mizuha's help. "I was able to solve these on my own so easily!"_

 _"That's good." Tamaki smiled, "If you keep it up, you'll be able to continue with Sir Nighteye."_

 _With a hum, he nodded and started putting his things away in his bag. "But y'know, she kinda reminds me of you. You both are a little similar."_

 _There was another, pessimistic and average person like him? One was enough for the world._

 _"You sure about that? There can't be anyone worse than me…"_

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Tamaki faced the wall when a little kid called him weird for having chicken feet. His negative mood suddenly shifted when he heard people praising him for his hard work. He turned around to see just how many people were surrounding him. There was enough for him to start shaking from too much attention. He froze on the spot._

 _He lowered his face and hid underneath his hood before turning back towards the wall again._

 _"Don't worry about Suneater! He's just shy!"_

 _.._

 _…_

 _"Honestly, Tamaki, you should be smiling at the people! Not hiding away because you're so nervous." Fat Gum said as they walked back to the Agency together. Now that Tamaki was not nervous, he was a little depressed that he couldn't help but show a lame side to the public._

 _He was pretty sure others would soon call him the Lame Hero._

 _"I had a first-year intern at my Agency this year. She reminded me of you. You have your wall and she…" he scratched his cheek in concern, "… has her red skin."_

 _"What does that even mean?" Tamaki sweat dropped._

 _"It means anxiety."_

…

…

…

"… No, she definitely dislikes me. She probably has since the first day we met. I'm sure I must have done something to her without even knowing…"

He turned around the corner.

"She was even crying that day."

And then he arrived at the door of the breakroom. He gently opened the door and was quick to realize how dark it was inside.

 _What is she doing sitting in the dark? I don't even see the light of her phone if she was even on it…_

Tamaki's fingers danced along the wall as he searched for the light switch that was supposed to be around. When his fingers touched the edge of the frame of the switch, he moved his hand upwards and used his thumb to push the switch upwards. The breakroom instantly flashed and a figure was revealed. What he saw surprised him. The two chairs that were supposed to be on the other side of the table was down to one. The opposite side had three chairs, and on them rested Mizuha's body. She was rested in a way where her face would be facing the table. Her face was hidden from his view thanks to her school jacket that was lying on her head.

"Hyoumei."

…

…

Tamaki knocked on the door twice, "Hyoumei?"

…

…

He frowned.

 _How deep is she sleeping?_

He walked over to her figure and gently pulled her jacket away from her head. When he dropped the jacket on the table, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

 _How can she even sleep like that?_

Her headphones were on her head while she kept an arm underneath it.

 _Isn't that uncomfortable?_

Tamaki hovered a hand over her. What was he supposed to do? Was it better to shake her or remove the headphones? He didn't even want to be in this situation in the first place.

...

...

He chose the latter.

But as soon as he tugged the headphones a centimeter away from where it was initial placed her eyes shot open. For Tamaki, everything seemed like it was in slow motion. The girl's eyes shot open and her head twisted to look at him dead in the eyes. He was never a fan of horror movies. Right now, it seemed like he was in one. He let go of the headphones and backed up against the wall with a startled yelp.

Mizuha was confused when she saw Tamaki dart towards the wall while letting out a sound (that she couldn't quite catch thanks to her muffled ears). She pushed herself up and stared at him, eyes squinting.

"… Hi?" she offered while lowering her headphones down to her neck.

Tamaki only lowered his head before pointing at the doorway. "Fat wants you in the office…" was all he said before holding his arm and walking out the breakroom.

Mizuha lifted a brow. _Did I do something wrong…?_

She separated the chairs to make space for her to get out of her makeshift bed. She grabbed her jacket and put it on herself. Her hands reached up automatically for her collar thanks to her mother's constant nagging about how she needed to always make sure her collar was out correctly. She left her jacket open and waltzed out of the breakroom while closing the lights and door behind her. As her head looked into the hallway, she was just in time to see Tamaki disappear around the corner in a haste.

She frowned.

From what she noticed so far during her time at as an intern, Amajiki seemed like he didn't want to socialize with her. He did with Kirishima and Fat Gum though. His timidity was obvious but…

 _I think… he doesn't like me that much._

* * *

Mizuha was waiting by herself in line during lunch. She took a glance at the table where Bakugo, Byakuren and Kirishima were at. They already had their damn lunch while she still didn't start eating because she was still in line. What, did they stampede their way to the cafeteria? She could be slow at eating, and that was making her worry about the time she was going to have left (even though the school gave her plenty of time to eat).

She crossed her arms and leaned her weight on one leg, sighing in frustration. She closed her eyes for a moment to inhale, then she opened them. She blinked. A hand was waving at her in front of her face.

 _What the? The girl in front of me isn't even looking at me!_

She trailed down the arm and saw how the arm disappeared into her body. She let out a frightened gasp and stepped back, thinking it might do something about the arm. Suddenly, a hand firmly held her to stop her from tripping back. She whipped her head back to face the person and saw how her hair literally whipped into their face.

She scowled.

"Damn it, Togata! You scared me!"

Togata only pulled his arm away from her and brushed away a piece of her hair that got caught on his lip. Then he smiled at her, "Revenge for that time in the library?"

She scoffed. "Uh no, that was _my_ revenge for that one time you scared _me_." She stepped away from him and stood to the side to watch the line in front of her while looking at her senior.

Togata held his hands behind his back, "So, how is the internship going?" he asked cheerfully.

She gave him a thumbs up. "Good. I've been getting a lot more experience compared to when I didn't have my Provisional License."

He grinned, "Right?"

They moved along with the line. Mizuha used that chance to peek behind Togata, then she pulled her head back and acted like nothing happened. The blond student looked behind him and then back at her. Nothing unusual was behind him. He stared at her and tilted his head to ask a silent question. She only shrugged, "I was just wondering if Amajiki was behind you."

"Oh," he turned around and pointed at his table where Tamaki sat alone with his tray. "He's waiting for me at our usual table." He turned back to her, "Why?"

Again, she shrugged and shook her head a little. "No reason…"

His lips formed a straight line as he stared at her, quietly asking the question again with his face. She stared back at him and shook her head. He leaned forward. She averted her eyes and took a step away from him.

"It's really not a big deal."

"If it's concerning my buddy, I think I need to know~"

They moved along the line again.

She looked at the table where Togata's friend was innocently eating his food. Then she looked back at Togata. It wouldn't hurt to tell him, right?

"… It's _really_ not a big deal, but I think… Amajiki doesn't like me—" The blond's eyebrows shifted up a bit, "—but it's not like I'm bothered by it. I mean, I can't ignore it since we do our internship together so I just notice it." she sighed, "Again, it's not a big deal. I can live with that."

Then she heard it. She heard a muffled laugh.

"What's so funny?"

Togata waved his hand in front of him, "No, no… I just think it's kinda rich how two timid people are thinking the same thing."

"Oh— huh?!"

He nodded, "He actually told me something like that too." he revealed.

That was surprise to hear.

"Try talking to him a little more. You never know, you guys could end up friends," he motioned a finger between them, "just like we did. He just needs a little push since he's just shy like you."

 _He said we were friends!_

She and Togata were friends. He considered them as such while she pondered over it before. It was only now that she realized that she needed some type of validation when it came to friendship. She was so used to having no friends before that sometimes she felt like there might be something needed to confirm a friendship. Validation.

But...

"Talking…" she mumbled.

Isn't that what Togata did with her? Her uncle had set up the whole tutoring thing. She was dead set on keeping the conversation to a minimum and only when necessary, but he changed everything when he started talking a lot and pulling her into the conversations. He saw how shy she was despite her efforts to hide it.

She stole another look at Amajiki and bit her lip.

 _Maybe… it might be nice to get along with him?_

 _I'm getting anxious at the thought of it._

…

…

…

"Besides, I bet you're also doing the same thing as him."

"And what is that?"

"Avoiding speaking to each other because you're shy."

"What? No—"

 _Wait… maybe that's true._

* * *

…

…

…

"Leave me alone!"

Amajiki and Mizuha separated from each other when a box flew their way. It crashed in the spot where they previously were, making the villain curse in frustration before turning around the corner.

Earlier, trouble happened again. This time it was a duo causing problems which included assault. The two had split up, hoping to lose the four of them and meet up somewhere else. With Fat Gum's instructions, the group of four split into two groups. Mizuha was with Tamaki while Kirishima was with Taishiro. The police were assisting by following after the pursuit.

The two students followed after the villain, only to face a dead end.

Mizuha's eyes darted around, confused.

Amajiki's eyes looked upwards just in time to see the villain pass above their heads.

"Behind us!" he warned just the villain landed back on the ground.

Celsius turned around and prepared her right hand, ice swirling around it. However, the villain's tail slammed into her, effectively knocking the air out of her. She was sent flying and slamming into the opposite wall. Her body fell the ground and she groaned. While wincing, she watched as her partner jumped away from the massive tail that crushed the ground it hit.

Suneater manifested his octopus-fingers and tried to capture him. It wrapped around the villain's mid-section. With a growl, the villain slammed his tail into the nearby wall. Bricks were coming apart and falling down, destroying the building. Suneater moved away from the falling debris, turning his other hand into a clam to protect his head. The villain unfortunately broke free during the chaos.

It reminded her of the collapsing building she was holding up during the Provisional Licensing Exam. Hurriedly, she got up and slammed her hand on the falling building and supported it with strong ice. She even made the ice protect Suneater by creating a ceiling above them. She made sure to triple the density just in case it fell apart.

"Shit!"

The villain started running away again.

"Hell no!" Celsius shouted, slamming her hand on the pavement. The ice formed an ice trail, starting from her palm. The ice swerved away from Suneater and kept pursuing the villain. As he ran, the ice appeared beneath his feet when they left the ground, causing him to slip and fall flat on his face. The older student used that opportunity to use his clam to knock him out where he lay.

With that, their task was done. The police immediately took him into their custody.

Mizuha stepped out of the alley way and rubbed her back with a frown. Hearing her boots dragging, Amajiki turned around to face her, "Are you okay?"

She stopped in front of him. "Yeah, I'm fine." she winced when stretched her back.

They both heard the police's radio make a static noise.

 _"Fat and his intern have the other villain cornered on the other side!"_

Mizuha frowned and looked at Amajiki, "Should we go there?"

Amajiki contemplated for a moment, thinking about it.

"If Fat and Kirishima have him cornered, everything should be fine now."

"Oh oka—"

Something ran into her. It grabbed her leg so suddenly. That sudden movement was enough to freak her out. She stumbled away from the source and practically stumbled into Amajiki. The older boy's hands shot up reflexively in an attempt to stop her from taking him down. Both students were equally surprised at what just happened. Mizuha got out of Amajiki's space and apologized with a cringe.

"I-It's fine."

She instantly turned her head to see what the hell just came at her. There, smiling, was a boy. He had brown hair and shining purple eyes. Something about him was familiar.

…

 _Wait._

"I knew it was you!"

Mizuha approached the child. "You're that kid I saved…"

"Awesome! You remember me!" he bounced in his spot. "I'm so happy I got to see you again!"

"Yuusuke, right?"

"Uh-huh!" he nodded vigorously.

She rubbed the back of her neck and gave him a little grin. Her head turned back to look at the villain that was getting thrown into the back of the police car. She gave her attention back to the boy. "What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

 _Because you were literally in an area that had a villain running loose again._

Yuusuke turned around and pointed at the fruit stand she helped out before. "I was with my mommy."

His mother, who was watching him from afar, waved at her with a smile on her face. He must have seen her passing by with Amajiki and asked his mom if he could say hi. Mizuha nodded her head at the mother.

Yuusuke tugged on her jacket and she looked down at him, "Yes?"

"I never asked for your Hero name!"

She never thought telling her Hero name to someone would make her feel a little giddy inside. This made a genuine smile appear on her face, "Celsius."

"Celsius." he tested. Then a grin appeared on his face, "It sounds nice!"

She saw how his shinning eyes flickered to the side, looking at something (or someone) behind her. He pointed his finger at Amajiki, looking as if he just noticed his presence behind her. The older boy merely pulled his hood back on his head since it fell earlier. He kept his hand on his hood, tugging it over his eyes. Mizuha peeked over her shoulder to look at what he was pointing at.

"Who's that?"

"Oh, that's Suneater. He's also a Hero."

"And he's your boyfriend too?!" he asked excitedly, looking interested in that potential topic.

"Hah?"

Mizuha only stared back at the kid, trying to register what just came out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Amajiki just choked on his own spit.

"No, he's just a fr—" she stopped herself before she could say the word because she knew it wasn't true. But then again, what could hurt in lying to this kid? Seems like it would be more of a hassle to explain the truth anyway.

"He held you like how my daddy holds my mommy!" he grinned.

Mizuha dropped her head, slapped her hand on her forehead. _Are you implying that your mom is just as jumpy as me then?_

"No, listen. It's really not like that! He's just a friend—"

"Yuusuke!"

The said boy turned around and saw his mom waving at him to come back. The little boy gave his mom a thumbs up before turning around to wave goodbye to Mizuha and Amajiki. "Bye bye Celsius! Bye bye Suneater!" he said before running off, "Mommy! Celsius is so cool and she even has a boyfriend!"

"What the hell?!" She said, loud enough for only Amajiki to hear it. The mother actually turned to look at Mizuha and Amajiki. The girl immediately held up her arms in an X and shook her head while mouthing the word 'no'. The mother only offered her an understanding smile before walking off with her son.

Mizuha sighed, carding her bangs with her fingers. She glanced at her senior and muttered an apology, guessing he might have been a little embarrassed about the whole thing. He just shook his head and stuttered a low 'it's fine'.

With his suggestion, they were both walking next to each other and heading back to the Agency.

And of course, it was dead quiet between the two. Mizuha took off the visor off her face and rubbed her face with her hand. When she did so, she discreetly glanced at Amajiki out of nervousness. Just as she thought, she couldn't see his face at all thanks to his hood. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked back in front of her. The air around them was so awkward that her skin was beginning to prickle. She felt it on her arms and knees. Then, she remembered Togata's advice.

As if grasping onto courage the was floating around her, she clenched her right fist and took a deep breath.

"Togata told me… he said that you think I don't like you."

This definitely evoked a reaction in Amajiki. He couldn't believe his friend just ratted him out like that!

He turned his head a little while she faced the ground.

"But that's not true, and to be honest, I think you don't like me."

 _What?_

He turned his head fully to see the slight dejected look on her face.

 _Oh nooo…_

"… That's not true either." he stated, making her look at him. "I just think I might have done something wrong since you don't really want to talk with me." he looked down, "Did I make you cry when we ran into each other?"

Mizuha cringed again. "Oh god, you remember that?" she sighed and scratched the back of her head. "That was the time when the villains attacked in USJ. I… kinda got shaken up from seeing Aizawa-sensei look all beat up. It… reminded me of a bad memory." she explained, "As for the talking part, I know Fat Gum since I met him when I was little and I did my first internship with him. That makes it easier for me to talk to him. For Kirishima, well… he's my friend. You're new person, so it's getting me nervous."

 _Shit, look at me saying all of this without a worry. My heart feels like it's pounding in my ears though._

She laughed to herself and left her arm. Her right hand's fingers diligently pulled up her sleeve, revealing the red patches on her skin. "This basically screams how nervous I am right now."

As Amajiki stared at the redness, he finally began to piece Mirio and Fat's words together. He understood how similar they were. He could even see the faint shaking of her fingers when she began to pull her sleeve back down.

"Are you okay?"

Ah, the common question regarding her stressed skin.

"I'm fine, it's just super irritating."

"… At least you could _hide_ your anxiety."

She scoffed, "Yeah, but I'm still freaking out internally though. At least _you_ can live without having my red skin."

He shook his head, "It's better than looking pathetic and having to hide away in front of a wall."

"Oh, come on. I'd rather have that!"

* * *

The internship at Fat Gum's Hero Agency continued. This time, they were in Esuha. It was dark but the light from big advertisements illuminated the market brightly, making it look rather pleasant. Red Riot and Celsius were cheering up Suneater, who was proving to be even more pessimistic than Mizuha.

"If only Mirio'd been free…" he muttered, "You kept coming at me. It was scary."

Mizuha chuckled, "I tried to help."

"But he still continued."

Fat Gum only laughed, "Tamaki, we've gotta do somethin' about that cruddy mentality of yours. You've got so much talent too!"

As if his praise was a hidden insult, Tamaki flinched and hunched like he just got hit in the stomach. "That kind of pressure will only lead me down further." he covered his face with hands. "It's always like this! I swear he scouted me just to have someone to torment! It's power harassment! I want to go home!"

Kirishima smiled and gave him a guts pose. "Maybe he's trying to encourage you! At least, that's what it sounds like to me!"

"… Y'know, the tormenting part… I think I get it." Mizuha mumbled, referring to how Taishiro loved to tease her.

"Oh, be quiet Micchan."

"I can't be as cheery and positive like you or Mirio." Amajiki said to Kirishima.

"I know how it feels, man." assured the redhead, "There've been plenty of times when I can't do anything when everyone else is frantic. The gap in ability and experience between me and my classmates has gotten bigger… So, I want to at least close that gap so I can stand next to them!"

"That's called 'being positive', first year."

"Kirishima." Mizuha called flatly, "You're strong." she said while looking at him dead in the eyes.

The redhead only rubbed the back of his head and was about to say something until—

"A fight! Someone, help!"

The four of them immediately went on alert. As soon as they turned around, they saw a couple of people running away, five people to be precised. Fat Gum went straight up to them and they ran straight into his fat. But two people got away from his grip. The first one escaped by using his Quirk which was similar to Edgeshot's while the last one was small enough to wiggle out and run. He was running with his arms too, like a dog.

Mizuha looked at the shorter one dead in the eye when he came running towards the interns. She lowered herself to the ground and placed her palm on the ground. Ice raced across the surface of the pavement, she was planning to freeze him in this tracks. The troublemaker jumped away from the ice like a deer. The ice bulged out of the ground and it shot up like a snake and wrapped itself around the guy's body. Then he fell on the ground.

She let out a quick sigh and grinned, satisfied with her work. She stood back up and rolled her shoulders back.

"These are my interns!" Fat Gum proudly announced, motioning his hands towards the three students. "But Suneater over here is already outclassin' most Pros!" he praised. "Just needs a bit of mental trainin' though!"

Instantly, the crowd that gathered around them started cheering, causing Suneater to shake from the attention. Celsius looked at her senior and laughed a little, she walked over to him as he stayed low to the ground and stood in front of him to block away the people from his sight. As he looked up to her, she used her hands to imitate the form of a wall.

"Want me to make an ice wall to hide you?" she offered with a grin.

"… D-Don't tease me."

"But I'm not!" she crouched down and grinned wider.

"Get down!" Fat Gum's voice boomed which was followed by the sound of a gunshot.

Just when she was about to turn around and look, she felt something on her neck. Her eyes widened. Pain. That's what she felt before instantly collapsing to the ground next to Suneater. The second shot hit Suneater, making him fall too. The third shot, aimed at Red Riot, bounced off his forehead when he hardened his body.

"Celsius! Suneater! Red Riot!"

The crowd that was once cheering was now screaming and running from the culprit, horrified at the sight of young Heroes getting gunned down.

Mizuha blinked frantically, fingers trembling, She was still alive. But how? She was sure the bullet connected somewhere below her head. She got on her knees and shakily reached behind her head, touching the spot where she was hit.

She wasn't bleeding.

"I-I'm okay." she mumbled.

"It hurts less than I thought it would…" commented Suneater, also getting up on his knees.

"Mizuha! Senpai! Are you all right?!" Red Riot glanced back at them, standing before them protectively.

As soon as the culprit started fleeing, Red Riot dashed after him. To try and help, Suneater extended his arm and tried to use his octopus. Celsius watched his fingertips but was confused when barely any of his octopus started manifesting. He looked at his hand in confusion.

She put her hand on the ground to try and use the same move she did earlier, but she only felt a chill around her hand. Not a single icicle came out. Now, she was dreading what was going on. She looked at her senior with panic in her eyes. Shaken up, they both got back up on their feet.

"Wait! Don't go runnin' into things! Move too hastily and it'll come back to bite ya!" Fat Gum yelled after Red Riot before turning to his two other interns. "Suneater, Celsius, if you're alright, then I'll leave this place to you! Other Heroes will be here soon, so work with them!" he instructed before rushing after Red Riot.

"We're not hurt, but our Quirks won't activate!" Suneater exclaimed.

The Pro-Hero paused and looked at the two. "Is Eraser around here?!" he looked back at in front of him for a moment and then back at the Celsius and Suneater. "Don't do anythin' rash!" he added to his instructions before disappearing from their sight. He needed to help out Red Riot first and then figure out what was going on with the two who were shot.

They ended up barely helping since they couldn't really do much. Amajiki was probably not skilled in hand to hand combat like Mizuha because he stayed back when she tried to help. She didn't have any weapons with her so she ended up grabbing a nearby empty box. She threw it at one of the villains escaping and pinned them down to help the police handcuff them.

"Thanks, you guys really helped us out here! This gang's been selling illegal drugs and goods. We've been looking for a chance to catch them." Explained one of the police officers.

Suneater rubbed the spot where he was shot and then looked at one of the criminals. "So, our Quirks couldn't activate because one of those items?"

The criminal only clicked his tongue and glared at him. "Eat shit and die, stupid scum."

...

Celsius looked back at her senior who was facing the wall. She frowned and looked back at the officer and the criminal.

"Anyway, please leave the rest to us." the officer said before turning away from them and leaving with the group of criminals.

They weren't going to talk. They weren't going to find the answer fast, and that was worrisome. She lifted up her hands and stared at them. Compared to earlier, nothing was coming out at all. When she got shot, she was able to produce a chill but now... there was nothing. No matter how many times she tried to activate it.

She was…

Was she Quirkless?

 _After all this time, training, developing my Quirk properly… is it really just gone like that?_

* * *

Taishiro suggested they pay a visit to the hospital to figure out what was wrong with Mizuha and Tamaki. They went back to the Agency and changed before heading there though. When Taishiro explained to the staff what had happened, they were quick in admitting them in to run a few tests on them. After conducting a few tests, a doctor emerged out of the room where Tamaki and Mizuha were being tested and informed Taishiro and Kirishima that the two would have to stay at the hospital overnight. They needed to monitor their condition. Their Quirk Factors were damaged because of substance that was found in the bullet, other than that, they were in perfect condition. That was the reason why their Quirks were not activating. However, there was a possibility that their bodies could naturally heal the damage done. Hence the reason why they wanted them to stay overnight.

"You two listen to the staff."

"I'll see you tomorrow Mizuha. You too, senpai."

Were the last things they heard from Taishiro and Kirishima before they were left with each other. The hospital had provided them with clothes for the night and placed them in a semi-private room, meaning they were sharing a room meant for two. The beds were facing each other but each one had a curtain to give privacy. She was probably going to use it block away the light coming from the hallway.

With a sigh, she dropped her bag on her chair and pulled out her phone and wallet. She looked at Amajiki who was settling his stuff down too.

"What are you going to do?"

Amajiki frowned and started pulling out his wallet, "I'll just go down and eat… then I'll head to bed. I'll just hope for the best after a goodnight's sleep."

She put a hand on her bandaged neck and brushed her fingers on the place where she got hit. "Yeah, I'll do that too… I don't know if I'll be able to sleep though… I'm worried." she said before putting her things in her pocket and walking to the door. Amajiki followed after her and they both walked to the canteen.

They were pretty much brooding as they ate. They couldn't cheer themselves up because both of them were not the type to radiate with optimism. They were assuming the worst.

When they went back to their room, embarrassment about the sleeping arrangement flew out the window. Their worry over their Quirks trampled their anxious mind. Amajiki ended up falling asleep first but Mizuha couldn't sleep. She tried closing her eyes and thinking about something nice… but it proved to be useless. She sat up in her bed and stared at the moon behind the window, wondering if she should call someone to calm her down. Her mother? Brother? Byakuren? But she glanced at her sleeping senior and noticed that he didn't call anyone. He was doing a good job at keeping himself together.

She ran her fingers in her hair, frustrated.

Mizuha launched herself backwards on her bed.

She ended up sleeping super late.

…

…

…

She woke up first even if she slept late. The curtain she moved to hide the light from the hallway was pushed back. She made the effort to do it as quietly as possible since her senior was still sleeping. Mizuha sat in a criss cross way and looked at her hands. She was scared of trying to activate her Quirk and feeling the despair if it didn't work. But when she held up her right hand there was water swirling around in her palm. Her face instantly brightened up. To test it even further, she made her water separate into small droplets similar to konpeito, and froze them. Then she made them fly around the room, making her contain a scream of joy. She was practically bouncing on her bed.

Tamaki shivered. Why was it cold? His eyes open and looked around, squinting. He shifted his head on the pillow to look at his junior. She was sitting there, using her Quirk, with smile on her face. He blinked a few times. Wasn't this the first time he saw her smile? As soon as sat up in his bed, creating a rustling noise, the ice evaporated in the air and Mizuha looked like she was just caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

The nurses ran more tests on them before letting them go. After eating breakfast, Tamaki is able to manifest the tail of a fish in his hand.

As soon as they arrived at school, Mizuha stretched her arms back.

"It's good that we got our Quirks back." she lowered her arms with a small sigh, "I wonder what would have happened since we're Hero Course students…"

"… You'd probably still have a place here." he said before slowly looking at the ground. "You still did something without your Quirk… unlike me."

"Hey, I fought old style and unprofessionally. I threw a damn box."

"It's still _something_."

Mizuha sweat dropped. She sighed and pulled out her phone out of her pocket. She only had fifteen minutes left before the break started before the second period. That should give her enough time to get ready. She immediately waved at her senior and said she needed to go off on her own now. Tamaki watched her leave. The Class 1-A dormitory was not too far so he saw her turn around and run into the building.

He turned and started walking in the direction of the school. He lifted left his arm and looked at the bandaged part. He was glad his Quirk was back. But what exactly was that drug? The hospital staff didn't tell him and Mizuha what the contents were but they did tell Fat Gum about it. He lowered his arm and sighed.

He recalled the moment where he found Mizuha playing with her Quirk.

 _She should smile more often._

* * *

 ** _Sidekick Celsius' second Hero feat! Amazing!_**

Mizuha blinked. The article was showing a picture of her catching the villain last night and a video of her saving Yuusuke. The same video that Byakuren showed her when they came back from their first internship. People must have done research and found the video.

"You saved a kid from death?!" Ashido pushed her phone closer to her face. Mizuha leaned back and tried reading it a little more.

"That was so dangerous… my heart dropped when I saw you almost hit the ground!" Jiro fretted while holding a hand to her heart.

"Right?!" Ashido pulled away her phone. "I literally got up from my bed and stared at my phone before that Pro-Hero saved her."

Mizuha chuckled at their worry. When Uraraka and Tsuyu came back into the classroom, Ashido and Jiro went up to them too. They were probably on the news too.

Kirishima was looking at the video too, he turned his phone to show it to her. "I don't remember this happening with Fat Gum…" he said, confused. His phone was showing an extended version of her saving the kid. It started from a few seconds before the villain dropped him all the way until Fat Gum caught her fall.

She scratched the back of her head, "Yeah… that happened before I had a license."

Kirishima lowered his phone, "Seriously?!"

"Yep… so I basically cheated." she whispered while making quotation marks with her fingers for that last word. She lowered one hand and used the other to swipe upwards on his phone. "It doesn't say anything about me and Amajiki not being able to use our Quirks though…" she looked up at Kirishima with a frown.

"I think only the police know about it since they picked up the bullet and the gun." Kirishima whispered. "And the hospital too I guess."

The people didn't know about the drug. They were keeping it quiet.

"About that, how is your Quirk?" Kirishima changed the subject since he never asked.

She offered him a small reassuring smile, "It's okay. I tested it out this morning."

"Senpai's too?"

She nodded.

"That's good to hear." He smiled.

Fat Gum didn't ask them to come back to the Agency. Maybe he was doing that to let those who were shot rest up and make sure nothing was wrong? They didn't know. He just told them that it was fine for them to not come back.

… Until the suddenly contacted them two days later, telling them to show up somewhere else and without their costumes. Mizuha was walking away from the dorm with Kirishima until they heard the door open behind them. They found Midoriya stepping out and going down the stairs.

"Morning, Midoriya!"

Mizuha waved at him.

"You're going to your work study today, too? What a coincidence."

Midoriya was saying something about how it was his first day back when Mizuha saw Uraraka and Tsuyu exit the dorm too.

"Hey." Mizuha waved at the girls, earning her two waving hands.

"You three are going in today too?" asked the brunette while walking down the steps with Tsuyu.

"Yeah!"

* * *

They all ended up taking the same train, stopping at same station and walking down the same path. They were all heading to the same destination. When they arrived, they found the Big Three getting ready to stop in. They were greeted by them. As soon as they entered, Mizuha's eye caught some words written next to the door.

 _Sir Nighteye's Hero Agency_

An eyebrow lifted up. This is the agency where Togata did his internship and the same one that Midoriya had been accepted into. When they walked to the designated room, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. A hand reached up behind and touched her nape. She blinked. Right, it was bandaged.

She looked up and saw how it was labeled as a meeting room.

 _Wait… a meeting?_

When they opened the doors, a number of Heroes were already inside, waiting for the meeting to start. Mizuha sharply inhaled before taking a step back. The other nervous student turned away from the crowd.

 _Is that Aizawa-sensei?_

"Fat!" Kirishima exclaimed, walking to the Pro-Hero. Hearing this, Mizuha followed after her classmate with Amajiki following after her. They wanted to know what was going.

But then someone spoke up at the front of the room. He walked a little toward the center. He was a tall man, dressed in a business outfit. Dark green hair smoothed down and parted to his left with three yellow streaks in the front. He wore glasses in front of his stern-looking eyes on his stern-looking face. He looked like the type who wouldn't laugh.

 _That's… he was the only Sidekick of All Might wasn't he? His name was... Sasaki Mirai? Right?_

"Thanks to the information we received from you all, the investigation has moved forward substantially. We will now have a conference to share what information we have acquired regarding what the small organization, Shie Hassaikai, is planning."

"I'm completely in the dark about this…" Kirishima whispered to Fat Gum, "Hassai… what?"

"They might be thinkin' of doin' somethin' bad, so this is a time for us to discuss it together." he said before looking at each of his interns. "And it's got plenty to do with you three."

 _… Is it about the drug?_

Mizuha reached for the spot where she was hit.

* * *

 **Oh man, I seriously enjoyed writing the interactions between Mizuha and Tamaki. In Team Anxiety, Mizuha obviously has a better hold of it since she can hide it meanwhile Tamaki is just shaking there.**

 **Anyway, this chapter was light but the next chapter will have the story go more into the Shie Hassaikai Arc.**

 **I'll see you in the next chapter soon!**


	26. Chapter 26: The Rescue Operation I

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!** **I hope you all had a wonderful start for 2020!**

 **Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story back in 2019! I really appreciate it :D**

* * *

Everyone was finally seated and ready to listen.

One of Nighteye's sidekicks began by explaining the current independent investigation that they had been conducting for about two weeks. What triggered the investigation was an incident that the Shie Hassaikai were most likely involved in. They've also been increasing their contact with other organizations who were involved in suspicious activity for the past year. It seems like they were aiming to expand their organization and their funds. They also added that they had made contact with the League of Villains. However, due to the enemy being very wary about being tailed, one of the Sidekicks could not pursue them to wherever is it that they were heading to. With the help of the police, they tracked down the place where both organizations met up and found a damaged warehouse. An altercation between the two was confirmed.

"So after all this happened, we reached out to all of your for help via HN—" explained Bubble Girl before getting cut off by her colleague.

"Skip to the next part." Centipede said.

"Right."

"HN?" repeated Uraraka.

"Hero Network." Nejire answered. "It's an online service only those with Pro Licenses can access. You can see reports of what all the Heroes in the country are working on and request help from Heroes with helpful Quirks!"

Mizuha pulled her arms away from the table and hide them underneath while her eyebrows shifted up a little. _That must come in handy…_

"Even if they're from U.A., why are there kids here?" the Hero at the other table facing Mizuha's pointed his finger in Fat Gum's group direction. Mizuha couldn't help but feel attacked. "We 'll never get anywhere with them here. The sun'll set before we get to the actual plan."

"Don't say that!" Fat Gum raised his voice, shooting up from his seat and knocking his chair down. The three interns looked at him, startled.

"These three have super important information!"

"Wha…?" Mizuha mumbled.

"These three…?" Kirishima repeated.

"Enthusiasm… smothering…" Amajiki mumbled after lowering his head.

"Anyway, I think I'm meetin' a lot of you for the first time! The name's Fat Gum. Nice to meet you! Oh, here's some candy!"

"We have reason to believe that one of the Hassaikai's main sources of income is unauthorized drugs." Nighteye continued. "So, I requested help from Heroes who are well-versed in those matters."

Fat Gum nodded. "Back in the day, I squashed loads of dealers like that! And then, at Red Riot's debut fight the other day…!" he clenched his fist, crushing the candies in his hand. "A type I'd never seen before was shot into Tamaki and Mizuha. A drug that destroys Quirks."

"Destroys Quirks?"

Aside from those who were involved in the incident and Aizawa-sensei, everyone was shocked. Aizawa became aware of this when Fat Gum's Agency called him and notified him about Mizuha's condition. He needed to know because she was his student and that she wouldn't be returning to the dorm for the night. Her three classmates looked at her with worry written all over their faces.

"Hyoumei—" Midoriya was cut off by Togata. It seemed like Amajiki didn't tell his friend because now it was his turn to shoot up from his seat. He placed his hands on the table and looked at the two.

"Tamaki, Hyoumei, you're both okay, right?" he asked, a little panicked.

"After sleeping it came back." answered Amajiki for both of them.

His transformed his hand into a cow hoof while Mizuha made a small wave of water that evaporated as quickly as it appeared.

"It's all good." she replied with a thumbs up.

"If it recovers, then there no need to worry." said the same Hero that pointed at them while shrugging. "It's nothing fatal."

Nighteye shook his head. "No," he pointed his hand at Aizawa. "I'll leave that explanation to Eraser Head."

"It's different than my Erasure. What we call Quirks are special additions to an ordinary body, or the Plus Alpha Elements. Everything included within the Plus Alpha are what we call the Quirk Factors. What I do is temporarily stop those Quirk Factors from activating. I can't actually cause any damage."

Fat Gum looked at Mizuha and Amajiki. "Right after Mizuha and Tamaki were shot, we had the hospital take a look at them, and their Quirk Factors were damaged."

Mizuha's discreetly looked around.

 _Ah, everyone is staring at us._

"Thankfully, they healed on their own and their back to normal, though."

"What about the analysis on what was shot into them?"

"There was nothin' wrong with the rest of Mizuha and Tamaki's bodies. The guy who shot them isn't sayin' anythin' either! The gun's in pieces, and the only bullet we had was the one that'd been shot!" Fat Gum smiled. He looked at Kirishima proudly. "But thanks to Kirishima's brave actions that led to one bouncin' off his body, we were able tog et one still filled with the drug!"

"Me?!" exclaimed her classmate. "That surprised me! It came out of the blue!"

"And after analyzin' the contents, we discovered somethin' that made me sick. Human blood cells were inside!"

…

...

 _What was inside me?!_ Mizuha's hand shot up to her neck. _Is it still inside me...?!_

"In other words," Ryukyu spoke up, "that came form a person… someone's Quirk? A Quirk that destroys Quirks…"

"Hm… I'm not really sure I'm following this." said a minor Hero seated at a table facing Nighteye's. "How is this related to the Hassaikai?"

"The man Kirishima captured," Fat Gum started answering. "and the illegal drug that guy used! The distribution channels for things like that are complex. It's gotten a lot smaller these days, but various people and organizations sell them wholesale until they finally reach the end user. There's no proof that the Hassaikai handled the goods, but they did interact with one of the intermediaries."

"The other day, when Ryukyu's team broke up a fight between two Villain groups," recalled Nighteye, "controlling one of the groups was the intermediary dealer organization."

"One of the two that turned giant had been given an inferior drug that didn't last very long." Ryukyu informed.

One of the minor Heroes picked up the papers that was distributed to each person. "Linking all this recent organized crime activity to Hassaikai…" he looked at Nighteye. "Maybe you're just seeing what you want to see? Don't you have something that implicates them more obviously?"

The screen displayed a picture, drawing everyone's attention to it. He had dark hair and he was wearing a beak-shaped mask. It reminded Mizuha of those plague doctors.

"This is the young head, Chisaki." Nighteye identified. "And his Quirk is Overhaul. The ability to both disassemble and restore any target. Disassemble… A Quirk that lets him break things and fix them. And a bullet that can break down Quirks."

Mizuha's eyes shifted to where Midoriya and Togata were sitting. She saw them lower their hands and stare at the table with a stiff posture.

"Chisaki has a daughter named Eri. There are no records or details about her birth, but when Mirio and Midoriya encountered her, she had a large number of bandages wrapped around her arms and legs."

…

…

Amajiki and Mizuha both stiffened in their seats, piecing the puzzle together.

Her hand shot back up to her neck and she looked at Chisaki's picture, mouth slightly agape. "Are you serious…?" she mumbled under her breath.

"Don't tell me something so horrific…" Ryukyu's eyes narrowed.

Gran Torino lowered his eyes, "It's society of superhumans." he reminded. "If you can dream it, you can do it."

Kirishima, who was doing his best to _try_ and understand the discussion, looked at his friend who was still looking at the screen. By the looks of it, she knew exactly what was up. He saw that his internship supervisor was boring a very serious expression.

"What…? What are they talking about, Mizuha?" He touched her shoulder, causing her to look away from the screen.

She looked at him and pointed at his picture. "He… the girl…" she couldn't even form a complete sentence from how shocked and horrified she was.

The dark hero sighed. "Are you sure we need the kids? You should get it." he said while looking at the redhead. "We're wondering if this Chisaki bastard is turning his daughter's body into bullets and selling them."

Needless to say, hearing the Hero say it out in the open made the first years tense. They had just gotten their provisional license and they just started their internship. But they were suddenly being thrown into a part of the world that hid many ugly truths.

"We don't know if he's actually selling the bullets." Nighteye resumed. "At their current stage, their efficacy is still too uncertain. However, if they're at the test stage, and he's using them as samples to gather more to his cause…" he trailed off. "There is no hard evidence. However, if he's gathering people and funds across the nation… If the completed drug would be able to completely destroy someone's Quirk…? Many dark, dark ideas spring to one's mind."

Fat Gum started trembling. "Just imaginin' it makes my blood boil!" he growled before clenching his fist. "Let's go find him right now!"

Someone scoffed— Mizuha's eyes narrowed in annoyance— Someone who's been supporting an annoying tone this whole time.

"Wouldn't this have been resolved already if those two had just taken the child?" he said while glancing at Midoriya and Mirio.

"I take full responsibility for what happened. Please do not blame them." Nighteye urged the man. "Even though they didn't know the full story, they acted to save the girl."

Regret and frustration. That was most probably what the two were feeling. She couldn't begin to even image how that must have felt. They let the girl go only to hear days later what exactly they let her go back to. It's going to haunt them.

"Midoriya was willing to bear the risk of taking her then, but Mirio thought ahead and acted to try again when the odds were better. The ones most frustrated here right now are these two."

Immediately, they both shot up from their seats.

"We will definitely take Eri next time…!"

"We'll save her!"

Nighteye nodded. "That's right. That is our goal."

Again, the dark hero scoffed. Mizuha's eyebrow furrowed a brow while her eye squinted.

 _Oh freaking— god, shut up! Or at least open your mouth to say something minus that freaking attitude of yours!_

"It's fine for the kids to show off, but if it's what we think, that girl's the crux the young head will want to hide, right? She got out because of some kind of trouble. On top of that, some kid Heroes saw her! You think he'll just keep her at home? I wouldn't if I were him. Even if we push our way in, it won't matter if she's not there. Have you already identified where she is?"

Ryukyu nodded in agreement, looking at business-looking man. "How about it, Nighteye?"

"That is the real issue." Nighteye admitted. "Since we don't know how far their plans have gotten, we have one chance to strike when it counts." the screen then displayed a map of the country while marking areas that are most likely needed to be looked into. "To that end, we have found groups with connections to the Hassaikai or land owned by them and made as thorough a list as possible I would like you all to investigate each place and narrow the list down to possible locations."

"So that's why you asked minor Heroes like us. The Heroes here and the localities where they work are the same! Heroes were chosen based on who knew the areas."

"You're mighty cautious for a former Sidekick of All Might." Fat Gum said before raising his voice again. "This is too roundabout! While we're takin' our time, Eri-chan is probably cryin'!"

"We cannot become All Might. That's why we must put together our analysis and predictions and try to make the possibility of saving her as close to 100% as we can."

"We can't rush." Gran Torino said, trying to calm Fat Gum. "If we make a big fuss about this and then don't get her, this could be the kindling for something bigger. Like how Stain's capture became like an ad for the League. In fact, that might've been the intent behind the distributing Quirk-destroying weapons to those hoodlums."

Mizuha flinched when Fat Gum turned towards her direction to continue speaking. He was pretty loud. "You're overthinkin' it! If we spend all this time talking about things like that, they're going to slip through our fingers!"

Oh but it didn't stop there. It got loud. Fast. More people started arguing over it. Some were agreeing with Nighteye while the rest was with Fat Gum. Mizuha and Kirishima looked at each other, then they shrugged. They could only really listen and wait for them to finish.

Aizawa raised his hand. "Can I ask a question?"

Nighteye nodded.

"I don't know how your Quirk works exactly, Sir Nighteye, but why not use your Foresight to see what sort of fate awaits us? Going forward without that knowledge… seems irrational."

"I… cannot do that. My Foresight requires a 24-hour interval between activations. In other words, I can only use it on one person for one hour each day. In addition, it's played in my mind like a flashback. Please think of it as the ability to watch a film of someone else's life for an hour after activation. However, that film is all from the perspective of that person. All I can see is that person's actions and a little of their surroundings."

"Well, that should be enough to let out find out a lot, though. What do you mean by saying you can't do that?"

"Well, for one thing… what if, in the near future, what awaited the person… was death? A cruel and merciless death, even. What then?"

"My Quirk should be used only after we have already drawn out the highest probability of success, when it can be used to ensure our victory. It shouldn't be used haphazardly when there are still so many uncertainties."

"Hah?! But death is information, too!" protested the dark Hero. "We could put a together a plan to avoid it!"

"It isn't the same as telling a fortune. There's no evidence to show that you can avoid the outcome."

"Nighteye, I don't get it! Fine, use it on me! I'll show you I can avoid it!"

He lowered his head. "I can't!"

Mizuha looked at the man who lowered his head as he refused. To her, it might have been her imagination but… was the subject of death, when it came to his Quirk, something personal? She might be overthinking it with her observation skills though.

Ryukyu sighed. "Anyway, let's do this. There's a child in need out there. That's what matters the most."

"Confirm the girl's whereabouts, and take her into our protection with the most accurate information we can get as quickly as possible. I'm counting on all of your help."

Bubble Girl started to quickly go around distributing the detailed case files.

* * *

The students who were involved in the meeting were gathered together. They sat at a table near a window where Togata and Midoriya explained what exactly happened the day they encountered Chisaki and Eri. The frustration was clear in their voices.

Mizuha was sitting at the other end of the table, across from Amajiki. From her angle, she could see their expressions. Both of them were so down that they couldn't hold up their heads while a shadow was hung over their eyes.

The sound of an elevator caught their attention.

"Is this a wake or something?" Aizawa's gruff voice asked.

"Sensei!"

Mizuha looked over her shoulder and watched her teacher come to their table. Mizuha made the effort to move her chair next to Tsuyu's so she wouldn't need to turn her head. "Oh, call me Eraser Head outside of school. But anyway, I was going to recommend all your work studies be suspended today…"

"What?!" Kirishima protested, standing up. "Why after all this time?"

"You heard them say the League of Villains could be involved, right? That changes things."

She just remembered that now. The platinum blonde haired girl looked at the side. A maniacal grin flashed in her mind. The lightning. She shuddered.

"But you know, Midoriya," he scratched the back of his head. "You still haven't regained my trust. Unfortunately, I'm sure that if I stop you now, you'll rush out again on your own." he crouched down in front of the frustrated boy. "I'm watching you. If you act again, we'll go by the formal procedures this time around, Midoriya. Got it, Problem Child?

"Mirio," Amajiki addressed the boy who still had his head down. "Please lift up your face."

"Ne, I know about this! Ne, Togata, even if you regret something and get depressed, nothing will change. Did you know that?"

"Yeah…"

"I'll say this to give you some peace of mind. The hand you missed grabbing onto did not necessarily mean despair for Eri-chan." Eraser straightened up a bit and placed a hand on his knee. "Face forward."

"Yes, sir!" Midoriya stood up.

"With that said," he stood up straight and put his hands in his pockets. "apart from the Big Three, who are at least as strong as the Pros, the rest of you probably won't have big parts to play. Asui, Uraraka, Hyoumei, Kirishima. You three aren't here of your own volition. What would you like to do?"

Uraraka and Tsuyu were firm in their decision of wanting to help Eri.

"Since the Heroes had you participate in the meeting, I think they have recognized you first years' abilities. In fact, I saw firsthand how two first years could shine much brighter than me…"

"Amajiki-kun, you start going off on that whenever you get the chance!"

"If I can help that girl with my power even a little, then I'll do it, Eraser Head!" Kirishima assured his teacher.

Everyone looked at Hyoumei, who hadn't said a word. Midoriya stared at her for a moment, wondering why she didn't state her position on this matter. But he remembered that night in the forest, where she screamed and trashed to try and get out of a Villain's hold that wanted to take her away like Bakugo. The way her eyes didn't even blink as she stared at the floor seemed like…

…

…

She did so well in hiding that fear up until now.

"Hyoumei," Midoriya called her attention. "Are you scared of Light being there?"

Uraraka looked at the taller girl with worry, remembering how she admitted her fear after that night.

"… Yeah." she admitted softly before looking up at him. "But… I don't care _enough_ about him to not want to save Eri." she said and then looked at her teacher. "I'll just stomp on that fear and do what's most important right now."

"If it makes you feel any better, it's the opinion of the police and Nighteye that the League of Villains and the Shie Hassaikai are not in a partnership, so the chances are low that the League will be involved in this time's raid." Eraser Head said to her to try and ease her nerves.

"Our goal this time is only to rescue the girl, Eri. We won't step in further than that. But in case they're wrong and the League ends up involved, that's where your roles end."

"Understood!"

"And, Hyoumei."

Mizuha looked at him.

"If Light does happen to try and get to you again. Don't hesitate to fight back, you have your provisional license after all. But I want you to keep in mind two things: one, you won't be alone, there are other Pro Heroes ready to take him on if you don't want to fight him. And two—"

"The mission. Eri comes first." she cut him off.

"Exactly."

* * *

After the meeting, she changed out of her clothes and changed into her P.E clothes. Her mind was made up for now. She was going to work on her Point Warping for now. It might serve as a useful skill for the rescue. After all, if Chisaki found out that they were trying to rescue Eri then he would try to flee with her. Point Warping could help her move fast when she needed to catch up.

It wasn't the first time that she would be working on it after the fight with Togata. After nearly breaking her neck by falling off the pillar, she went to her uncle for some answers. Turns out the whole point of not telling her how to do it is because he didn't know if she could do it. There was a possibility that she might be able to use the skills and brother and mother had. Mizuha got terribly angry at him, thinking that she could have been wasting her time if she never had the ability to do it in the first place.

She just needed to do exactly what she did when she escaped from Togata.

 _"For example, if you wanted to move upwards with Point Warping then you needed to start from your feet. If you were in mid air and wanted to go down, you should turn your body into water starting from your head. Do you get it?"_

 _"Um… do you mean like I should turn my body into water by starting with the opposite side? Like if I wanted to move backwards," she stepped back and started motioning the front of her body. "Then this part should first become the water and then like 'move' towards the back?"_

 _"Exactly."_

Mizuha placed her phone near the door and set the ringer volume at the max. Her alarm needed to be loud enough to echo so that she could head back to the dorm. Getting in trouble with her teacher because she lost track of time was the last thing she wanted.

She placed blocks of ice in different parts of the gym, designating them as destination marks for practice. This is how she trained whenever she had free time after her work study. She would practice moving from one spot to another using only her Point Warping.

She didn't know how long she spent practicing because she was so absorbed into it. But at some point, she heard one of the doors opened, signaling that there was an intruder. Instantly, she ceased her movements and looked straight at the exit. A familiar man walked into the gym while holding a folder underneath his arm, giving her a wave as soon as she saw him enter.

"Afternoon kiddo."

Mizuha smiled a little, legs running to the man who was waiting for her. She could have just warped to cut the distance, but she preferred the old-fashioned way. Family deserved it, she supposed.

"Hi, Uncle Eijin!" she greeted before stopping in front of him. "Here to help me out?"

"If you need it, but no, I'm not here specifically for that." He said, taking out the folder with one hand and leading her away from the door and to the wall.

She let him guide her until he held her shoulder firmly, stopping her in her tracks. When she looked at him, she saw him hand her the folder with no label. The girl shot her uncle a curious expression, slowly opening it when he told her to.

The moment she opened it she was greeted with a picture of a person that was clipped to the folder. A familiar one. The setting of the photo… it was dark, it was in the evening. There was a lot of rubble from the buildings that previously stood. Judging from the angle of the photo it was safe to say that it was taken from above.

It was a picture from the incident in Kamino.

In the photo, a figure was on the ground with a knife in his right hand.

"That's Light…" she mumbled. Then she looked at her uncle, not quite understanding why he was showing her a picture of the Villain that attacked her. "What's this for?" she asked while taking the edge of the picture and lifting it up.

Underneath the photograph was another one. This one was different. There was another person and it was taken in a way which the photo would be used for files and IDs. It was a young man with sand brown hair and purple eyes.

"… Who's this?"

"Rion Kyourai."

She looked at her uncle.

"Kyourai was a graduate from U.A. He was a very good student. He graduated while being one of the top students in class."

Mizuha tugged Kyourai's photo away from the clip and held it in front of her.

"His abilities were greatly recognized, and he was recruited just before he graduated. But he didn't stay a Sidekick for very long. He was experienced enough to take on missions as a full fledged Pro-Hero."

"What was his Hero name?"

"Bolt. It was a reference to his ability to move as fast as a lightning bolt."

 _As fast as a lightning bolt…?_

"He was beginning to gain recognition for his abilities once he effectively carried out his missions. However, he disappeared during a certain mission. He was presumed missing at first and soon after dead once the police found much of his blood somewhere in an alleyway. It was also the same place where bystanders reporting seeing him last. The officials assumed he was brutally murdered by some type of Quirk that could erase any other trace of his existence."

Mizuha's eyebrows knitted, _He was so young…_

"The Villain named Light. The one that came after you. He started appearing some time after Bolt disappeared. His crimes consist of murder, and even torture. However, unlike most of the League of Villains, the police could not find any trace of his true identity or origins. It was almost as if he had done something to erase his past from the records." he plucked the picture out of Mizuha's hand and swiped Light's photograph away from the folder. "They had their suspicions… but it's not enough to identify someone based on the Quirk alone. People can have similar Quirks." He stepped away from her and proceeded to hold up both pictures, one in each hand, for her to see.

It didn't take neuroscience to try and figure out what he was trying to say.

"You're telling me that this guy," Mizuha pointed at Kyourai. "is actually him?!" she pointed at Light.

"That's what the police believes after piecing all the information together. They're sure, but their still leaving room for doubt. After all, things might not play out well if tell the public that a dead man was a Villain this whole time. It might cause unnecessary troubles for Kyourai's family too, if they were wrong."

Mizuha bit her lip as she stared at Kyourai's picture.

 _Twice moved to take a good look at Mizuha, "Why do you want this girl so much, Light?"_

 _The villain addressed as Light only grinned wider. "She's like me."_

…

…

The reason why he even thought they were alike… was it because she was attending U.A? The school he graduated from when he wasn't a Villain? That was literally the only thing that they could have in common. Light didn't even know her. How could he know anything about her other than she was attending U.A? The Sports Festival was the only thing that exposed her to the world. He only knew about her from the event…

Mizuha's eyes widened.

 _Then… it could have been anyone. It could have been Uraraka, Jiro, Kaminari, Kirishima, Byakuren, Todoroki— anyone really._

But he chose her, possibly at random.

 _That asshole—_

"Mizuha?"

Her eyes darted up, looking at her uncle who was longer holding up the pictures, instead waving a hand in front of her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replied before handing the empty folder back to her uncle. "Why show this to me now? Couldn't the police just announce his identity?"

Eijin sighed, taking the folder back. "Like I said, they don't want to suddenly announce that a presumed dead man has been living the life of a Villain. They want to get rid of that doubt first." he put the pictures on top of each other and clipped them back in the folder. "I suppose they'll want to arrest him first before they can announce it. And I'd appreciate it if you kept it quiet for the time being."

"Do you think it's him?"

"At first? No. But I do now."

He put the folder back under his arm. "Now that I've told you, how do you feel now?"

Mizuha paused, staring at him with confusion written all over her face. Her provided her the answer seconds after she gave him such look.

He shrugged before rubbing the back of his neck. "From my experience, knowing more about what you're afraid of tends to ease the mind even if it's just a little."

The girl blinked owlishly. "… You get scared of things?"

He let out a puff of laughter before lowering his hand. He went over to her and rubbed her head. "Of course. Just because I'm a Hero doesn't mean I don't get scared of things now and then. I'm human after all. Now, back to my question."

She endured his affection until he stopped. "I guess it helped… I mean, I feel more irritated now that I know more about that guy." she admitted.

Eijin nodded in satisfaction. He laughed and patted her shoulder. "That's a good sign. I tend to feel the same when I learn more."

* * *

The next day, everyone was doing their best in training classes, wanting to gain more training that could benefit them for the mission. Any training is good training. But the air they carried with them pretty much gave away that they were hiding something from everyone. Whenever the internships were brought up in a conversation, all four students would give vague and simple answers, because they weren't allowed to talk about their internships in the first place. They couldn't even talk to each other about it.

They were on standby. They needed to wait for the Pro Heroes to try locate the possible facilities. During the first day of standby, Mizuha and Kirishima had to ignore Bakugo at the lunch table since he kept pestering them to tell him what they found out. When Byakuren asked her what was up, she would only shake her head and reply that she couldn't tell him or else she would get in trouble. That was all it took to not make him ask again.

…

…

…

Bakugo scrolled up in the shared document. His eye twitched when he saw something wrong. He looked up from the laptop and started typing something without looking, watching for the girl's reaction in front of him.

Mizuha, who was sitting across from him, was not really paying attention to the work anymore. She didn't even see what Bakugo was writing right in front of her face.

After school, Mizuha and Bakugo went to the library together to work on the project Midnight had given them. Needless to say, Bakugo wasn't a happy camper when he discovered that he was working with someone against his own will. Nothing he can't deal with though. They worked on a schedule together to make it work with their own busy schedules. Today was one of those days. Mizuha said she would lend him her extra laptop since she prepared the material inside of it, making his life easier. She was being considerate since he had to work for his provisional license. They went to the library in the school and worked on the document for about twenty minutes until she started getting distracted.

With an annoyed sigh, he nudged her foot with his own, causing her to blink once and look up at him.

"What?"

"Stop spacing out." he snapped.

"… Sorry."

When she looked back at her screen, her brows furrowed and she squinted. She looked back at him and found that he was waiting for her to react to it. She pointed a finger at him, "Erase that. Midnight won't like seeing your profanity."

"You should have seen it if you kept typing." he shot back without missing a beat.

"I said I was sorry." she frowned before clicking on the screen and pressing the backspace on her keyboard.

He scoffed. "Obviously whatever you just learned out there is on your mind."

"Geez, really?" he spat sarcastically. "Good job on noticing that, want a cookie?"

"Fuck you."

Mizuha didn't even look up from her screen but she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Keep doing that and I'll rip it out." he growled.

Her tongue darted back inside her mouth but she didn't hide the amused grin on her face.

The relationship between Bakugo and Mizuha was… good. The occasional teasing she did to rile him up didn't seem to bother him as much it used to. Of course, it did make him bark back but it wasn't anything too extreme. He tolerated her just like Kirishima probably because they sat at the same lunch table now thanks to the said redhead, and maybe because they frequently saw each other on the 4th floor. The same couldn't really be said about Byakuren since he was always acting sketchy which irritated Bakugo, especially since they sat next to each other during lunch.

"Tell me what you learned out there." he suddenly said, breaking the silence in the empty library.

She groaned in response. "I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"Because I can't! I'll get in trouble, doofus!"

"No one's going to find out! Just fucking tell me!"

"Shh! You're loud!"

"Oh, for fuck's— there's no one in this damn place!"

"I'm not telling you anything!"

At this point Bakugo was standing up, looking at her while she tried to hide away from his gaze by hunching in front of her laptop. He was so damn persistent!

Both the spiky hair and the mole girl wouldn't give him the answers. It was irritating him because he was still stuck without a license, while they were already doing Hero-stuff.

Bakugo dropped himself back in the chair, fingers practically digging holes into the keyboard by how fast he was typing. Mizuha gaped and pushed his head with her hand, "That's my laptop!"

Before he could say anything, she put herself back in her seat and held a finger in front of her lips, meaning he needed to stop asking. "Stop asking and so we can finish this!"

He only grunted in response. Yeah, no one was going to tell him shit.

The boy thankfully dropped the subject, sulking. For the rest of the time, they worked diligently until they finished the piece that was arranged to be done that day. They would finish the last part tomorrow after school and be done with the assignment. Seeing as they worked early on it, they might be the ones who finished first. Mizuha's standby and Bakugo's day off from License Courses made it easier for them to finish their work in two consecutive days (that is unless the Pro-Heroes locate the Shie Hassaikai's place).

…

…

…

On their way back to the dormitory, Mizuha patted his arm and stopped walking. The ash blond haired boy looked at her, questioningly. She pointed at his bag, "Pass me my laptop."

She didn't know how she managed to convince him but he was carrying the other laptop in his bag since she whined about two being heavy. And carrying it in her arms on the way there was a big fat no. She wasn't foolish enough to try and risk dropping it. While muttering something accompanied with the word 'hassle' he pulled out the device and handed it to her. She carefully took it from him and held it firmly in her hands.

" 'Kay bye." was all she said before turning to the right and marching to the gym.

"The hell?" he closed his bag, "Where are you going?"

She stopped and looked at him. Her face basically said 'what-does-it-look-like' while she shrugged and motioned her head to the gym. "I need to work on something."

Her Point Warping was doing well so far. However, she wasn't sure if it was at the level of being able to avoid an attack. The one she avoided from Togata just happened. She wasn't sure if she was able to do it now that she was aware of what she was doing. To contribute to the rescue mission, she was hoping it would be enough to avoid a real attack.

She blinked.

 _Wait._

Her feet dragged her back to Bakugo who stared at her weirdly as she approached. It was funny. Her hands were so determined to lock themselves around the laptop that it made it look like she was swinging her arms and laptop side-to-side as she ran. When she arrived in front of him, she carried laptop with one arm (fearfully) and tugged on his sleeve.

"Help me train!" she grinned.

"What? No." he started walking back to the dorm, leaving Mizuha standing with her mouth open.

"Please! It won't be long! I just wanna do and try something!"

"Why should I help with your dumbass training?!" he barked while shrugged off her tugging once she caught up to him.

"Because…" she looked up as if trying to find an excuse, which made Bakugo's face twitch. An idea popped in her head but she wasn't sure if she wanted to put herself in that position. No. Eri comes first. She looked at him. "I'll owe you."

He disliked having to owe someone. Always have and always will. If it ever happened that he needed to owe a favor, then he'd do it as soon as possible to free himself. However, having someone owe him was a different story. Did she really ask him to help her out with something so simple in exchange for owing him something? It seemed too easy.

"Really?" he looked at her suspiciously.

She nodded with a defeated look. "And you're like the best student in our class. You're perfect for this." she said with a straight face, knowing she was purposely feeding his ego for her own interest.

She wanted to stick her tongue out or something for the insincere flattery.

Mizuha added one more thing.

"Not even Todoroki or Midoriya can help me with this."

…

…

"Fine."

* * *

After changing into more comfortable attire and dropping off their stuff at the dorm, Mizuha explained to him what exactly he needed to do and why.

…

…

…

He scoffed. "So, you just want me to chase and attack you?"

"Pretty much."

"You could have just shoot me an insult. I would have gone after your ass before you could even blink."

She pictured Bakugo to be the perfect training partner since he was fast when he used his Quirk. She knew that first hand from their fight in the Sports Festival.

Bakugo didn't warn her and he was already flying her way, leaving a cloud of smoke behind him. The way his face started coming closer and closer towards her made a yelp escape her before she stepped back. She moved herself a meter away from the boy and gave him a reproaching look when she was back to normal. He had detonated his hand on the spot she was previously standing in.

"I wasn't ready!" she yelled at him.

He didn't even say anything. The boy was coming after her without stopping and she needed to keep Point Warping away. Mizuha moved the left and he predicted this move since she ended up lowering herself to dodge his hand. She placed her hands on the ground and swung her leg at his feet. Bakugo jumped away and she got back up and stepped back to warp away.

She was repeating what she had been doing for the past week which included enduring the dizziness of first time use. It was similar to sitting on a desk chair and having someone spin you around for a while. A person would normally lose their balance and stumble around. That's how Mizuha felt whenever she warped too much. But she was determined to try and fight it.

... If only it was that easy.

She warped away from Bakugo at least fifteen times.

As for the sixteenth… she saw him in front of her with his hand outstretched towards her. This time, she decided to get behind him by moving past him. While a little dizzy, she took a step forward and water started moving in his direction.

From his perspective, he saw her move towards him when he neared her. Water appeared behind her and started carrying her away in his direction. Figuring she would appear behind him, he started turning his upper body to the left. His head and left arm was in the process of turning until he felt a body ram into him. It felt like he just got tackled by a bull.

Due to the dizziness and the constant use of Point Warping, she made the water vanish just when she reached Bakugo, something she wasn't supposed to do. His head was at a ninety-degree angle to the left before she practically ran into him and took him down.

"WAHH!"

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Bakugo landed harshly on his back and he groaned from the impact. He was already sore from the License Courses for goodness sake.

Mizuha's head was practically spinning at this point. She was on top of him but she was lying on him diagonally. Their stomachs were the only thing that were very much pressed against one another. Mizuha saw the gym spin while she had her hands on the floor, she thought she might roll around with the gym if she removed her hands. With a click of his tongue, he lifted up his head and looked at the girl on top of him.

"Damn it, Hyoumei!"

"Sorry… I got dizzy."

"Just move before I fucking blast you away." he grumbled.

"Yeah, just a sec." she said before pushing herself up with her elbows and knees and moving her upper body closer to her legs. She sat on her legs and stared at blankly at a window in the gym, waiting for the spinning to stop.

Bakugo sat up and watched her sway a little. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her try to shake off her dizziness. He scoffed, causing Mizuha to look at him.

"What are you trying to do?! Tackle Villains like a mad woman?!" He pushed her. He didn't even push her that hard and she fell backwards.

"That was unintentional!" she retorted. "I got dizzy from warping too much."

He got up, "You're going to get yourself killed by your own dizziness. Ha, that'll be funny to see on your tombstone."

She shot him a tired look. She decided to ignore that one. "Anyway, I think I can move fast since you got me like three times out of fifteen..." she said while rubbing her back, the spot where Bakugo frequently got her.

"We done? I wanna leave already." he said impatiently, tapping his foot against the floor.

"Just one more thing…" she said while getting up. She went up to him and grabbed his arm, which made him pull away defensively. She rolled her eyes and took back his arm, telling him to bear with it. His arm was parallel to the ground and Mizuha told him to leave it like so before running away, creating some distance between each other.

Bakugo held his arm out like she wanted and kept one hand in his pocket, a scowl on his face.

Mizuha kept her eyes on his arm. She wanted to try something that she thought about not too long ago. Her uncle said that her water was a tool. She remembered specifically about how he said she might lose a part of her body if she tried warp inside water. He said she might lose a limb. Then it was safe to assume her body parts were very much still in place when she warped safely.

Bakugo saw her run to him, her water forming behind her and washing her away as it moved past her. The wave of water approached him. The water didn't move past him. Two beams of water shot out and wrapped itself around his arm. Then she reappeared appeared next to him, holding his arm with both her hands. Her eyes widened when she saw how she was firmly holding onto his arm.

 _So, it works._

It was a little difficult, but moving her arms while they were water was not impossible.

Her hands released Bakugo's arm and she looked at him. "Alright, that's it. Thanks for helping me out."

"That's it?!"

"What, you want to help me out for five hours?" she shot him a tired look. "I'm not trying to work on an ultimate move bucko."

"Whatever." he started walking off, leaving her behind. But not without shouting over his shoulder, "You fucking owe me now! Remember that!"

She sighed. _I hope he won't ask for anything too extreme…_

* * *

 _Two Days Later, Nighttime_

Mizuha looked over her shoulder, startled. Her phone's notification tone just echoed on the entire floor, making her heart jump. Her fingers crossed in hopes that her teacher didn't hear it.

Her phone's light created some brightness in the dark common room where she was currently drinking some water.

She set down her glass and went to pick up her phone. Then her eyes widened, _The date's been set…_

Mizuha took a seat on the couch and stared at the message, letting the situation sink in.

 _I'm really going to be participating in a real mission... seems so unreal._

She bit her lip and took in a deep breath, she slumped in her seat and dropped her head back.

The elevator dinged, causing Mizuha to sit up and look. She found Uraraka and Tsuyu exiting, each one holding their respective phones.

"Mizuha-chan." Tsuyu said as she and the brunette came closer to her.

It wouldn't be long until the two other boys arrived as well.

"Did you all get the message?" Kirishima asked, looking at everyone.

"Yeah."

"The day we move."

* * *

The next day, they all left together to Nighteye's Agency. It was the day the operation was going to start. After revealing the location where Eri was being held captive and getting the final details of the mission, they all changed into their Hero Costumes and waited for the search warrant to be given. The search warrant was given was very quickly and the police was ready to barge inside the residence with the Heroes.

Taishiro distributed a paper to his interns. "Read these carefully. They listed the Quirks of those Hassaikai."

"Alright." Mizuha took the paper from him.

"Heroes! Things might get a little violent. If you see even a hint of suspicious behavior or resistance, please deal with it immediately! We're up against gangsters who have survived until now. Don't let your guard down and carry out your respective tasks. We will commence the operation at 8:30! Move out!"

…

…

…

8:30 AM

"Once they've read the warrant, charge in! I'm counting on everyone to move swiftly."

Rock Lock clicked his tongue. "He keeps saying the same thing over and over. It's like he doesn't trust us."

Celsius and Fat Gum looked at him, annoyed.

"You know that's not what he means. Stop being mean." The big Hero said with a reproachful look, making Rock Lock huff.

Celsius clicked her tongue. "He's so damn annoying…" she mumbled.

Fat Gum looked at his intern and sighed. "Don't get irritated now. We're about to start."

Celsius waited for the policeman to press the doorbell. But then suddenly the doors were blown away as a giant fist punched its way through, it sent policemen flying away in the air. As startled as she was, she didn't fail to react in time. Celsius extended her hand and her water rose up to catch two officers inside. Quickly, she set them aside and dried them off.

She looked over her shoulder to check on the two.

"W-We're fine."

"Thank you…!"

The owner of the fist was looming over them. "What do you want? Bringing all these people so early in the morning…"

"Oi, oi, oi! Wait!" Rock Lock got ready as the big Yakuza started straightening up. "They're already on to us!"

"Forget about that, let's just all pin him down!"

"I feel a little more awake now." His arm started bulging as he reeled it back.

"Get back!" Ryukyu warned.

"What do you people want?!"

The moment he swung at the officers, Ryukyu used her Quirk and turned into a dragon. The area was enveloped in smoke from the impact but it soon cleared away thanks to Ryukyu. She was keeping a hold on the enemy.

"Anyway, we shouldn't split up our forces here. Ryukyu Agency will take care of him!" Ryukyu said before slamming him down, holding him in place. "The rest of you go now, while you have the chance!" she motioned her head to the entrance.

Fat Gum ushered his interns and the police officers inside. "You heard the lady! Get in there. GO! GO!"

Celsius gulped and ran inside. _Holy crap this is really happening… OKAY._

When they got further onto their grounds, Yakuza started coming out and attacking them, not caring one bit about the announced search warrant. There was a lot of members that were coming out to stop them from entering.

"Leave them to us and go on ahead!" said one of the minor Heroes.

"We're counting on you!" Nighteye pushed away the Yakuza to keep advancing.

Everyone did the same until they finally entered the residence, allowing Nighteye's Agency to lead the way.

"It's an emergency! Excuse us for not taking off our shoes!" Fat Gum shouted while shoving away another Yakuza. "They haven't done anything suspicious yet!"

"I'm getting kinda worried. We have no choice but to keep going now that we've started, though."

"I wonder if someone leaked information to them." Suneater said next to her. "I feel like they're all gathered in one place for some reason…"

Celsius glanced back and saw how more Heroes started to hang back to keep the Yakuza busy. "I think it might be a distraction…" she said while turning her attention back in front of her.

"That would be highly possible." Eraser Head said next to her. "The underlings exchange sake cups and pledge loyalty to the boss and brothers. Even with their fall from grace, these gangs have always emphasized loyalty above all else. All this push-back and the fact that we haven't seen Chisaki or the top brass haven't shown themselves yet. They're probably underground getting ready to hide or flee right now."

"Loyalty? That's a bunch of crap!" Red Riot protested. "Forcing their henchmen to take responsibility and running away themselves isn't manly!"

Fat Gum nodded. "No doubt!"

Nighteye suddenly stopped in front of a wall. It had a wall scroll just hanging there with a vase sitting underneath it. He moved the vase aside and started tampering with the panel until the wall began to move, revealing a secret entrance.

"It's like a ninja residence!" Bubble Girl exclaimed.

"if you hand't seen it with your Foresight, we wouldn't have noticed it. Be careful of Quirks we haven't see yet—"

A hand appeared on the moving wall. All of a sudden three other Yakuza climbed up with the intent of attacking them. Before they could even lift a finger, all three were restrained by Centipede and Bubble Girl who ushered them to keep going. The group rushed down the stairs and found themselves underground but with a wall blocked their path.

"It's a dead end…! You sure you're not mistaken?"

"Explain yourself, Nighteye!" Rock Lock shouted.

"I'll go take a look!" Lemillion ran to the wall and passed his head through. He pulled away after a few seconds, "It's just been blocked off by a wall. But it's a pretty thick wall."

"With Chisaki's ability to break down and restore things, even this is possible?"

"A cheap trick…"

"It's like he's telling us he'll be in trouble if we go this way."

Celsius clicked her tongue. "Lemillion. Heads up."

Lemillion looked behind him and saw a giant ice fist flying his way. He quickly phased through it and stepped away as it broke through the wall. Rock Lock and Fat Gum looked at the girl standing between them. She held in the urge to laugh when she felt the disappointment radiating off the two. They missed their chance.

Celsius clapped her hands. "Alright. Let's keep going." she said before evaporating the ice and running down the path.

"Right!" Deku and Red Riot ran with her, followed by Lemillion.

Suddenly, the floor, the walls, everything started twisting around. Celsius touched the wall and froze her hand to it to keep herself from loosing her footing. The path ahead of them was changing.

"It's not Chiaski!" exclaimed the black haired officer. "It's different… The only one it could be is the director, Irinaka! Irinaka's Quirl, Mimic, lets him go into objects and control them freely from within! He's gone into the concrete that makes up the underground, and it's turned into a living maze!"

"But it's on too big of a scale!" Rock Lock retorted. "He shouldn't be able to enter and control objects bigger than a fridge!"

"If he gets a big enough boost, it's not impossible, huh?" Fat Gum stumbled. "I was bein' careful about _what_ he'd turn into, but I didn't think he'd turn into the underground. This has got to be hard on him physically. Eraser, you can't get rid of it?"

Eraser Head leaned back on Fat Gum to give himself support. "Not unless I catch sight of his real body…" the black haired Pro Hero looked at his female student. "Celsius! Can you locate him?"

Celsius turned on her visor and waited until she started seeing red figures. She looked away from her group and turned her head around to scan the place. The heat sensors she requested from Hatsume were effective. However, since they allowed her to see both her surroundings and the heat, she could not confidently locate him. All she saw was a figure moving along the walls.

"He's around here but… we can't reach him from here when everything's moving around!"

"Damn!" Rock Lock grunted.

"All these twisting halls don't matter as long as we know the way to the target. I can get there!" Lemillion suddenly announced.

"Lemillion!"

"Senpai!"

"It's a race against the clock! They know it too; this is all just to buy them time! I'm going on ahead!"

And then he was gone.

Celsius didn't like the idea of her friend going off all alone. Chisaki was a dangerous man, that she was sure of. They should hurry and get through this damn labyrinth. It was better to face Chisaki with at least one more person.

With that in mind, she unfroze her hand and started walking…

… until she found herself in midair.

Everyone dropped and watched as the floor (now ceiling) sealed shut when they landed below.

"We're getting further and further away from our goal!"

Everyone helped each other get up.

"Oi, oi, oi!"

Celsius whipped her head in front of her and saw three people standing away from them.

"Some government authorities have fallen from the sky. Strange things happen, huh?"

A big bald guy, an odd man wearing a sheet with holes and another who was carrying a sword.

"It looks like they're really ready for a fight." Fat Gum straightened, cracking his knuckles. "It's about time we show 'em what us Pros here can—"

Suneater stepped forward and stopped him. "Save the strength of Pros for the goal. For the ones stalling for time… I'll be enough by myself."

Celsius stared at Suneater's back. She was feeling uneasy at the idea despite hearing how fierce his resolve was. Everyone was set one helping out and taking out the three together, but Suneater was insisting that they go on ahead without him.

"Fat Gum! If it's me, I can completely shut down all three of them."

Celsius looked at Fat Gum, who stared at his intern before making up his mind. He turned to the door, "Let's go!" he said before running off.

Celsius clenched her fists. As much as she didn't like the idea of leaving him behind, she had to trust her senior. He was strong and capable, even if he constantly denies it and puts himself down. She knows this firsthand thanks to Fat Gum always assigning her to Amajiki's side whenever they had to split up during patrols.

"Everyone! Please take care of Mirio! I just know… he's going to take things too far and need saving."

She exhaled and followed Fat Gum but not without shouting something.

"Be careful!"

That was all she could give him in respect of his resolve and for the sake of the mission.

* * *

"Fat! You're going to leave him alone like that?!" Kirishima asked, feeling bad about leaving behind his senior all alone against those three Hassaikai. "What were you thinking?!"

Rock Lock glanced over his shoulder. "He's from your agency so I left that decision to you, but frankly, isn't he in trouble?"

"He's more capable than anyone else here." replied the BMI Hero. "But his heart was weak. The pressure he puts on himself to be perfect crushes him. But despite that, he still rose up to become part of U.A.'s Big Three. Someone like that declared that he could completely shut them down! So… all I can do is leave it to him!"

As they turned around the corner, the lights began to flicker. Everyone halted and became cautious of their surroundings.

"Another one of the Hassaikai?!" Rock Lock groaned.

Knifes started raining down around them out of nowhere. It seemed like they were coming from the wall and ceiling since they couldn't figure out who was throwing them. Celsius flinched when a knife landed point first in front of her boots.

"What the hell?!"

"Where are they coming from?"

"Is this Irinaka's doing?!"

 _That knife…_

Celsius' eyes narrowed. She aggressively stomped on the knife, making it fall flat.

 _He's here. No doubt about it. That fucker is moving around and we can't see him!_

She kicked the blade away. "Stop hiding, you lunatic!" she screamed, causing the people around her to look surprised considering how she was usually reserved and quiet.

Lightning started sparking everywhere as if replying to her.

 _I don't have time to mess with him! Eri is more important right now!_

" ** _I've come to collect the next pillaaaaaar~"_**

"That voice…!" Deku gasped. "It's Light!"

"Celsius!" Eraser Head kept his eyes locked on her to watch out for Light.

In a flash of light, Light appeared behind Eraser Head and shoved him to the side before disappearing again. The teacher blinked from the sudden force while a knife flew past Celsius' face, grazing it. She looked around frantically to try and stop his games. He was so fast.

 ** _"Irinaka… open the floor!"_**

All of a sudden, the floor beneath Celsius' feet opened up just enough for only her to fall through. Celsius' eyes widened. She was falling. Deku quickly grabbed her wrist before she fell, he wasn't about to let her fall and let the League do what they want once again. Not while he was still capable of doing something. Just before her could pull her up with her efforts combined, a blade flew past them, flying down below.

Light kicked away Deku, causing him to unintentionally let go of Celsius' wrist.

"Celsius!" Fat Gum cried with an outstretched hand.

Celsius saw how her allies looked down as she fell while a figure grinned below her as if to mock them.

...

...

Ryukyu. Nejire. Uraraka. Tsuyu. Amajiki. Togata. The police. They were all doing their best.

And Eri. Poor little, Eri. She needed help.

And _Celsius_ needing help… was not important right now.

"I'll be fine!" she cried back before the ground sealed shut above her.

Unlike back in the forest, she wasn't completely alone this time. That thought was enough along with the feeling of wanting to help Eri was enough to give her courage to stand against her fear of Light. Knowing full well that he was underneath her, she used her water to change the trajectory of her fall. It wasn't the most graceful landing.

While she lied on her side, she glared at Light.

The grinning man only flicked his tongue on the blade that had her blood on it.

* * *

 **I wasn't quite sure about bringing back Light into the story. At first, I thought it was too early but then I thought to myself: when the heck are you going to bring back this dude, huh?! So, here he is. He's ready to mess with our main character once again!**

 **PS. I have been giving some more thought about the ship of this story. But who do you think Mizuha should be paired with, and why?** **If you have more than one character in mind then by all means talk about it too.** **I'm just a tad bit curious.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews!**


	27. Chapter 27: The Rescue Operation II

The Heroes that that witnessed Celsius' sudden drop with the League member were feeling a little uneasy. It was no secret that this particular member was after her.

Deku was frustrated at how easy Light got away with his intention despite being sure that he wasn't about to let him. It was understandable though; the Villain was like lightning. He suddenly appears like a flash of light before disappearing.

Red Riot clenched his fast, staring hard at the spot where a stray knife lay, remembering how fast everything happened. He couldn't do anything. Again.

"Let's keep going!" Fat Gum suddenly hollered, bringing everyone back to their main task. "We press on!" he announced, stomping ahead.

"Oi," Rock Lock spoke while running, "You sure you want to leave one of your interns behind? This one is dangerous for Celsius." he was most likely referring to the information about Light and his interest in her.

Fat Gum's face hardened. "She'll do what needs to be done." he said without hesitation. "When she's done with that one, she's probably goin' to go straight after Lemillion! Trust her on that one! She won't go down that easy, I have faith in her!"

Red Riot nodded. "Yeah!" he agreed even though he could feel it eating at him. "She's grown stronger like everyone else! Mizuha won't get taken down by that guy so easily."

"Well said, Red Riot!"

Rock Lock frowned.

* * *

…

…

…

Celsius slumped on the ground after slamming back into the wall. Her face was wincing as remains of Light's lightning sparked around her body. He was fast and strong. He truly did move at the speed of lightning.

She wiped the her blood off her cheek.

Her eyes widened. With a gasp, she dived to the left and rolled away from another strike of lightning. She stopped on one knee and observed her opponent carefully. He was standing in the middle of the dark room with a maniacal grin stretched on his face, hands hovering with lightning flashing around.

Celsius got back up on her feet and swung her arm down, creating a diagonal ray of water before solidifying it. She firmly grasped onto the ice before pivoting away to avoid another strike of lightning. Before she faced him again, she swung the ice rod downwards and scraped the floor as she aimed the end at Light. From where the floor was scraped, an ice trail followed and formed into wave of ice. She directed the end at her opponent which caused the ice to shoot towards him rapidly.

The Villain let out a cackle before destroying the ice with his lightning. Celsius cursed and threw the rod at his feet to try and freeze him where he stood. But he still shattered her ice with ease.

 _Ice is not going to work against him. He destroys it too easily. So, water and steam are my only options._

She clenched her fists.

 _No, my Quirk isn't my only weapon. I'm nowhere near out of options._

Celsius started running at him, causing him to grin wider.

"Are you willingly coming back with me?!" he asked cheerfully.

Celsius warped to the side, away from his lightning. The spot she was previously standing in was now black. She practically zig-zagged her way to him, but she was carefully dodging to avoid getting hit while being mindful of her drawback. Light blinked and stepped away when he saw her new ability, a little taken back from how fast she was approaching him. He wasn't expecting it. He narrowed his eyes. He took out a knife while spinning it once before slashing when she appeared in front of him. Water washed past him and formed her physical body behind him.

She focused her water around her fist as she put herself back together. It enveloped her fist until water was raging and swirling around it. His head was turning to look over his shoulder.

 _Light only grinned wider. "She's like me."_

His words echoed back in her mind.

Celsius gritted his teeth.

"I'm nothing like you!" she yelled before throwing her water-fist into his face. The water burst, creating a recoil between the two. Light fell forward while Celsius' arm was pushed back before she stepped back to balance herself.

 _"Kyourai was a graduate from U.A. He was a very good student. He graduated while being one of the top students in class."_

 _"His abilities were greatly recognized, and he was recruited just before he graduated. But he didn't stay a Sidekick for very long. He was experienced enough to take on missions as a full-fledged Pro-Hero."_

Celsius stared at his figure that was getting back up.

"I don't understand how someone like you fell and became evil." she spat.

He didn't grace her with a response. He only laughed to himself eerily, making chill run up her spine. He turned his head to look at her while he was still on his knees. She was actually glad his hair was covering his face. The thought of seeing insane eyes would probably frighten her.

"Why don't you just come back with me?"

He disappeared.

Celsius saw his figure appear in her peripheral vision. His knife was lying on the ground near her. He grabbed the knife and aimed for her leg, she evaded it by warping backwards.

This made Light laugh again. "You're just like me!"

"I'm not!"

Light swung at her. "Don't deny it!"

 _Deny what? You psycho!_

Celsius used Dragon Rush and made it move quickly to avoid Light's lightning. It practically froze the entire room since it bounced off the walls to chase after him. It once caught his leg but he shattered it with his lightning again. Lightning held a knife in each hand and aimed it at the ice below him, sending lightning down to break it. Then he pointed them at Celsius, sending lightning bolts in her direction.

"Everything I do is for the greater good!" he grinned before shooting lightning bolts at her.

He was irritating her with his vague answers and crazy words. "Greater good, my ass!" she screamed while dodging. "Murder, torture… everything you do… everything listed on your criminal record is filled with evil! There's nothing good about that!"

Even if he was one of those that supported Stain's ideology… she couldn't consider his actions something for good. She was positive that if Stain was what the media really described him as... he wouldn't stoop so low as to torture someone like Light did.

The lightning faltered. Light paused and lowered his arm a bit before saying softly, "Criminal… record?"

Celsius used that chance to close the distance. Quickly, Light recovered from his brief distraction and swung one of his knifes at her. She slid to the side to evade his attack but she felt the blade touch her left arm, leaving a long scratch behind as she moved away. Celsius winced. When she realized how close she was to him, she remembered how her uncle rendered her immobile for a while when she was teamed up with Kaminari.

She dragged her foot backwards and pulled her right hand back. Her hand was angled the same way as her uncle's before harshly slamming her palm into his solar plexus. Light staggered backwards as he inhaled sharply, but he was still standing.

 _Damn, it wasn't strong enough! He doesn't double over like when Uncle Eijin did it to me…_

He closed the distance between them and reeled his head back before slamming his head on hers. He laughed when she stumbled back in pain, holding up a hand to her forehead in attempt to ease the painful throbbing.

 _Shit! That fucking hurts! Damn..._

She warped away from him and leaned back on the wall while keeping an eye on him. She put a hand on the behind her and her eyebrows shot up for a moment when she felt the icy wall. She clenched her free hand.

She had an idea.

Celsius carefully observed Light.

Eraser Head said that they thought the League and Overhaul's group was not working together. Based on the reports, Chisaki seemed like a very cautious man when it came to people trying to find out his plan. If so, then the League couldn't have sneaked in so easily. They were most likely working together up until recently.

 _"His crimes consist of murder, and even torture."_

Celsius gritted her teeth. _There's no way I'm letting him add Eri to that damn list._

Suddenly, Celsius let out a shout before shooting towards him with an ice hammer in her hands. "Fuck off, Light!" she screamed before swinging the hammer at him.

"Don't you ever learn?" Light sighed before easily destroying the hammer.

Celsius flinched when the hammer exploded, letting ice debris and fragments fly in the air. She skidded to stop in front of Light and then jumped back. All the ice in the room immediately evaporated, creating a smokescreen around Light.

Celsius turned on her visor and saw how Light was looking around him. She hoped he was like Byakuren, the type to panic when unexpected things happen. Celsius used Aqua Protection around her before running at him. Her fists were encased in ice.

A laugh suddenly echoed in the room, his laugh.

"What's this? Look at you, you're growing stronger everyday! I'm so proud!"

 _Of course, I have._

He slammed his hands on the ground.

 _What—?!_

Light unleashed his lightning everywhere, creating a wide range attack. It shattered her ice and she lost concentration for her water and steam when she crashed to her hands and knees. The sudden rush of pain left her screaming.

The steam was evaporating and it was getting clearer.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

…

…

 _No, I've already felt his lightning. Twice._

 _Like a video game, when you keep repeating a level… you start getting used to it._

Her screams were quieting down.

Celsius steeled her mind. Her fist clenched tightly. She was not about to just succumb to his attack once again. Her teeth clenched tightly and she shut her eyes, enduring the pain.

 _Get up. Get up. Get up!_

Celsius let out a cry before warping towards him, reminding her of the painful fact that water and lightning are a deadly combination. The pain was more intense.

She couldn't see his heat radiating-figure but she knew where he stood. With lightning traveling everywhere throughout her body, she rushed at him and moved her arms in water form to grab onto his shoulders. Light let out a piercing scream. She slammed him into the nearest wall and electrocuted him with his own lightning. He had stopped his lightning seconds ago, but she was enduring the remains of it to try and cause as much damage as possible before stopping her Point Warping. Technically, she wasn't Point Warping anymore because she was trying maintaining her water form.

 _I know for a fact that people aren't immune to their own Quirks!_

Light _tried_ to claw at her.

When she finally couldn't take anymore of it, she returned to her normal state and let go of Light. He slumped a little and groaned while trying to take a step forward to try and touch or hit the girl, his arm was reaching out to her. Celsius staggered back but forced herself to land one more blow. She reached for the front of his jacket, grabbed it firmly before bringing him down to her level and kneeing him hard in the guts.

Light gasped for air.

 _Alright, I don't really know how to do this but… here goes nothing._

She locked her hands together and slammed them behind his head when he was hunched over. Then he fell forward and he lay on the ground without making another move. Was he unconscious?

Celsius panted while staring at the Villain. She was lucky that his goal was to take her alive. He didn't need to go all out to take her down. She probably would have a harder time defeating him if he was not playing with her.

She kept staring at him, unsure about what to do next. She noticed that Light was drenched from the water she used when she warped. The sight was giving her an idea. The girl walked around his body until her feet were facing his side. With her right foot, she turned over his body until he laid on his back. His mouth was slightly open but his face was still hidden from her view.

Celsius narrowed her eyes. Driven by her curiosity, she got down on one knee next to his head and moved her hand to his long bangs. For a moment there was hesitation but she eventually raked her fingers in his hair until his face was completely visible. Her hand hovered in the air when she stared at the unconscious face.

His face.

Celsius frowned. "Kyourai. He's really Kyourai Rion."

She even opened one eye to check for purple hues.

His face was identical to the photograph her uncle showed her. The only difference was the scar that started from the left side of his temple all the way beneath his left eye. If only she brought her phone with her then she could have taken his picture and sent it to her uncle. That way, they wouldn't need to wait until arresting him in order to announce his identity to the public.

With a sigh, she placed her hands on her knees and pushed herself back up.

She needed to go.

When she walked away from him, she glanced back at him.

 _What the hell made you decide to become a villain when you had such a bright future?_

…

…

…

After she exited the room, she started taking in account the injuries she got from her fight with Light. There was particular one that was bothering her. She frowned at the sight of the slice on her lower left arm. It was fresh and it was a red line, it stung a little. It reminded her of a scar she got during her childhood that already faded away with time. She had a scar on her lower left arm thanks to running past a bamboo stick and scratching herself when she was little. Was she really about to have a new scar on the same place?

She had others injuries but they were not serious (she might have suffered some burns though). There were very few too, how lucky. They weren't stopping her from moving so she could confidently say that she was still in tip-top shape in her book… just a little tired. Hopefully, that wouldn't be a problem when she caught up to Lemillion.

If she remembered correctly, she was at least three floors below the point where the halls started moving around. Suneater and the rest were on the floor above hers. She knew where to go, but she wasn't sure where she was supposed to go to get back on the right track.

She made sure to make as little noise as possible to not attract unwanted attention. Conserving her strength for the real mission was her top priority.

As she turned around a corner, she found a door with light coming out from underneath. Her movements ceased instantly and she held in her breath as if the enemy was right in front of her but couldn't see her. She couldn't stay there though, Eri needed help and so did Lemillion. She proceeded with caution, carefully walking without making too much sound. She was practically tip-toeing her way down the hall. There were a few steps that were too loud for comfort but she was still trying her best to be quiet. Just to be extra careful, she turned on her visor and looked at the door. She couldn't see what was inside the room but she could see four red figures.

One of them was in a lying position, another was sitting next to the door, another was sitting on what looked like a chair while the last person was just standing next to the first. The closer she approached the room, the clearer the figures started to become. Instead of simply walking past the door, she stopped in front of it and stared at it, wanting to try and figure out who was in there. But then she jumped in her spot when the person next to the bed came running to the door and swinging it open at full force, scaring the life out of her.

Celsius came face to face with Fat Gum, who looked ready to try and knock out whoever was behind the door despite his ragged self.

He blinked and so did she.

His expression eased into a relieved one.

"Micchan!"

She was enveloped into a tight hug.

"T-Taishiro—!" she looked at him, wondering why he was suddenly squeezing the air out of her. Was he _that_ concerned?

He released her and held her shoulders in his large hands. His eyes were making a quick scan of her body, trying to check if she sustained any type of life-threatening injuries while she was gone. With first aid supplies nearby, he could treat her immediately.

He let out a relieved sigh when he saw that she was still alright. But all of a sudden, he let go of her and spun around.

He pointed a finger at one of the people in the room.

"Back away, Rappa-kun! He isn't even awake!"

"Tche."

A brow lifted on Celsius' face. She stood on the tip of her toes and tilted to the side to try and get a better view of the room inside. To her surprise, she found her classmate looking all battered up. Her mouth fell open a little and she squeezed herself inside by stepping into the small gap between Fat Gum's figure and the door frame. She looked at Red Riot with silent worry written on her face. Her heart started beating fast and she gulped silently.

"He's going to be fine. I gave him first-aid thanks to this guy." Fat Gum pointed at the other standing person.

She looked at the large man with light colored hair. She couldn't see his face thanks to the plague mask he was wearing. But he was definitely staring at her… and doing nothing.

"You're not going to fight me?" Celsius asked, a little confused. Sure, she wanted to avoid another confrontation but this one was simply staring at her with absolutely no intention of fighting her.

"Maybe later. Right now," he pointed at her unconscious classmate. "I still need to finish my fight with that man! So, I don't wanna fight little girls right now."

 _Damn, okay. I'm actually not offended by that. I'd like to conserve my strength._

 _... Kirishima really went up against this guy?_

"Yeah, okay. And this little girl wants to know where your Boss is. Any idea?"

She was trying her luck.

"You're going to die early. But he's fleeing, but you should be able to catch up with him if you keep taking the right and climb up the stairs."

"RAPPA!" cried the man next to the door, making everyone look at him. "You shouldn't be telling the enemy where Overhaul is!"

"Shut up! I don't care! I have no interest in her until I finish this fight!" Rappa barked.

Fat Gum and Celsius sweatdropped.

Fat Gum and Red Riot were in no condition to fight while the enemy was not exactly trying to kill them on the spot thanks to that weird one. The one that was against this temporary truce was the one restrained in the corner. Fat Gum was definitely saddled with an odd one, that was clear. She just hoped her classmate didn't wake up until help arrived. He best stay unconscious and alive so that one doesn't make a move.

Celsius nodded her head, appreciating the help. Then she turned around and walked out of the room. However, she stopped to look over her shoulder, looking at Red Riot and then at Fat Gum.

Was she worried?

Of course!

Fat Gum motioned his head towards her path. "Do what you came here to do."

Celsius scoffed. "Don't worry, I know. I barely even started."

 _Don't let their efforts go to waste._

* * *

She followed Rappa's directions and indeed found herself reaching the top of the short staircase.

"I'm telling you; you're going to die." A voice echoed on the floor.

Celsius' eyes widened. Who was speaking? Chisaki? If so, who was he talking to?

Immediately, she turned on her visor and looked at the wall where she saw a figure stumble and hit the wall harshly. She moved closer to the wall, pressing herself against it.

Judging by the built and shape…

She let out an inaudible gasp.

 _Togata!_

"Wh-What..?!" His voice confirmed her guess.

"Bwa ha ha! Feeling drunk, are ya~?!" a slurring voice spoke. " _Hic._ Like you can't… can't stand up straight~? Same here! That's why I ain't walking around down there! Don't get close to me… you'll catch my drunkness~"

She found the speaker hanging from the ceiling. Two other figures were retreating. One looked like he was carrying something since his arms were not by his side.

Her eyes narrowed. _Eri._

Two gun shots went off, surprising Celsius in the shadows.

"What's your Quirk?" A new voice spoke.

 _Great, there are two of them._

Right after the question was asked, Lemillion started talking. He started spilling out information about his Quirk and other stuff. It must be the other guy's Quirk. Celsius looked back at the distant figures and noticed how they were getting further away. The girl moved away from the wall and walked back where she came from. The two that were hanging back literally revealed their Quirks. One made a person drunk while the other could extract the truth from someone. If she wanted to help out Lemillion, then she should set her sights on the one hanging from the ceiling. It might help. It should cause a brief distraction for the one with the gun. Aside from the gun, he didn't seem too dangerous. Lemillion could deal with him quickly since he could phase through the bullets.

But if he were a little too late, then she might get hit…

Celsius shook her head. _I'll believe in Togata for this one._

She took in a deep breath. Her eyes closed and she braced herself.

 _Okay._

Her eyes shot open and she started running to the corner of the hall. The moment she stepped out of the shadows, she shot towards the guy hanging from the ceiling with Point Warping.

"Huh?" Deidoro dumbly blinked.

Celsius's fist smashed his face in, knocking him down to the ground. She grabbed onto one of the pipes and held herself up in the air.

It happened so fast. Lemillion let out a startled noise and Nemoto saw rapid water aiming for Deidoro. A part of the water shot out before forming a person. It revealed Celsius who sent the drunk subordinate crashing to the floor. Nemoto clicked his tongue and aimed his gun at Celsius who was busy swinging her body to give herself momentum launch herself after Chisaki. Lemillion instantly phased through the floor and shot out from many places, using his move Phantom Menace to defeat Nemoto.

While Lemillion was doing Phantom Menace, Celsius let go of the pipe to launch her body before Point Warping after Chisaki.

Chisaki and Kurono looked behind them after hearing the commotion.

The young head of the Hassaikai came face to face with Celsius' boot. His eyes widened. She kicked him back by landing a hit on his forehead, sending him flying to the floor.

"Overhaul!" Kurono looked back but then quickly looked at Celsius.

 _The assistant of Overhaul in Shie Hassaikai is Kurono Hari. His Quirk is Chronostasis. His arrow-shaped hair can extend itself to cut others to slow down his targets. He is incapable of using his Quirk while he's moving._

Celsius warped to the upper right just before Kurono hair struck her. The arrow went through her water. At that same moment, Lemillion shot out from underground, right in front of Kurono. He threw his fist in his face which sent the assistant flying into the nearest wall and the child flying in the air. Eri gasped as two beams of water came to her, she flinched. However, she felt how gentle the water was, it was not hurting her. The water became two arms wrapped around her.

Celsius jumped back with Eri in her arms while adjusting her properly in her hold. Point Wapring was done three times with very short intervals. The moment Lemillion was at her side, she handed him Eri to give herself a moment to recover. The blond boy observed his junior for a brief moment to evaluate her state. It seemed like she was handling it better compared to the first time she used Point Warping in front of him. She would be fine.

"Why…? You two shouldn't be here… He'll kill you!"

"I will never make you sad anymore." Lemillion declared. "It's fine! I will become your Hero!"

Chisaki was growing annoyed

"Come back, Eri." He rubbed the side of his face with his sleeve. "Killed? How many times do I have to tell you? _You_ break people. That's how you were born."

Celsius' eye twitched. "The hell..."

"No… You shouldn't—"

"You don't have to listen to him!" Lemillion cut her off.

"Aren't I always telling you? I have to get my hands dirty because of your selfishness. Each and every action you take kills people. You're cursed."

"How can you say that to your own child?!"

"Huh?" Chisaki crouched down. "Right, that's what I told you…" he removed one of his gloves. "I don't have any children."

Celsius' eyes widened. _Then who…?_

Chisaki disassembled the floor, forcing Celsius and Lemillion to jump away from his attack. The floor, the walls, everything around them started to change. Spikes started forming everywhere, closing in on them from every corner. She had to use Point Warping a couple of more times to keep her limbs and life intact. She had to stop somewhere or else she would really be in danger. And when she did, she nearly skidded to a stop face first into a spike. Thankfully, Lemillion grabbed her jacket and yanked her towards him and out of danger.

"Thanks…"

"Don't mention it. I'm surprised you're the first one here."

"Eh… I took a shortcut since I was dumped somewhere. There was this guy that was nice enough to point me in the right direction."

"I didn't think there'd be someone friendly in this place."

"I wouldn't exactly say friendly."

The sound of Chisaki breaking the floor made them move away from each other. More spikes appeared around them and tried to pierce through them, aiming to kill them right here and there. He didn't seem to care one bit about the possibility of hitting Eri, the cornerstone of his ultimate plan. While Lemillion protected Eri by moving further back, Celsius got a little careless and ended up having a spike shoved into her shoulder.

She winced.

"Celsius!" Lemillion shouted, concerned for his friend when he heard her hiss in pain.

Her breath hitched.

"I'm okay!"

With her left foot, she made water and shot it upwards before turning it into an ice blade to cut of the spike. She staggered back and removed the spike; this was the first time she was seeing so much of her blood coating something. She locked her eyes on Chisaki, who was focusing on Lemillion, and threw the spike in his direction.

Chisaki created a wall in front of him.

 _Okay. Hurry._

Celsius stuck her right arm inside her shirt. She placed her hand on her bleeding shoulder and sealed the wound close with her ice.

 _Not the best first aid… but it's something._

Her water washed away the blood on her hand so she wouldn't scare Eri if she saw it. The last thing that girl needed was validation about being cursed. Her only hope was that the girl didn't see her get hurt.

Before Chisaki could try and attack Lemillion and Eri again, Celsius created a wave of water and made it charge towards him. He broke the floor to disperse the water away from him and Kurono.

She blinked.

 _Wait… let's see…_

She repeated the same move but with her ice. Chisaki let the ice come near him before quickly disassembling the ice into mere pieces. Her eyebrows shot up. Chisaki couldn't disassemble her water. That was good to know, very useful. Her head quickly looked around for her senior and she immediately went to him was she found him. He was wrapping Eri in his cape in the back while smiling at her reassuringly.

If she could prevent Chisaki from using his Quirk… then Togata could take him down without worrying about Eri getting hurt.

 _This guy won't even touch a single hair on her head!_

She stood next to Eri, and she pointed at Chisaki when she looked at Lemillion. "I'll stop him from using his Quirk. Go!"

As if it was a test of speed, Celsius immediately emitted her water and targeted it at Chisaki. Obviously, with Chisaki's hand flat on the floor he was faster. He tried to push away the water with his Quirk, but the water rose up from the ground and arced in the air. Then it dove down and engulfed Chisaki in the turbulence, effectively lifting him off the ground spinning him inside the water.

Lemillion ran ahead and slipped underground.

Kurono aimed his gun at Celsius.

Eri gasped.

With an intense glare, she shot him a look and released Chisaki from her water before throwing it at Kurono, pushing him away and making him drop his gun. As long as Celsius was next to Eri, no one was going to point a damn firearm in her direction.

Chisaki was about to touch the ground with his hand again until Lemillion came out from underground and uppercut him in the jaw. The head of the Hassaikai fell back and reached for a spike that was nearby.

"I don't think so!" Celsius yelled loudly.

A wave of water pushed away Chisaki from the spike.

Kurono, who was drenched, lied on the ground harmlessly. The gun he was previously carrying was far away from his reach. He was positive that if he tried to move, the odds wouldn't be in their favor. Not with her watching him. Her eyes. They were watching them carefully and observing them from afar. Not a single movement was going to go unnoticed from her hawk-like gaze.

And with Lemillion and Celsius were using their Quirks precisely, showing results of good training, things were not looking good for the Hassaikai's escape. Whenever Chisaki was showing signs of using his Quirk, Celsius' water would interfere to push away his hand or entire being away from the floor. Once he was off balance from the waves, she would remove her water from his surroundings and let Lemillion to step in and throw his fists at him.

Celsius' mouth curved confidently. Lemillion could take him down if Chisaki can't touch him at all and he wouldn't be able to fight back. And she was keeping a good eye on that assistant.

Help would arrive in time or maybe Lemillion might take him down right here and now.

 _This is looking good._

* * *

…

…

…

 ** _Get up._**

…

…

 ** _Get up._**

…

 ** _I said get up._**

Fingers twitched.

 ** _What are you waiting for?_**

 ** _Get up._**

 ** _GET UP!_**

Purple eyes shot open and they were filled with pure desperation.

 ** _Good._**

Teeth gritted.

 ** _Keep moving._**

* * *

 **Well, that's done. I didn't make this chapter too long because I wanted to keep the next part with the rest of the arc. So, one more chapter and we'll be done with the raid! With the anime wrapping up the arc, I can wrap up my own chapters soon. So, the wait won't be quite long (I hope).**

 **As for the ships, thanks for telling me! I'll keep your reasons in mind.**

 **See you in the next chapter!**


	28. Chapter 28: The Rescue Operation III

_"You want me to spare this girl?" Overhaul asked after looking at the picture on the table. It was a photograph of a girl from the U.A Sports Festival._

 _"Yep, that's all." Light laughed lightly while rubbing the back of his head._

 _Irinaka scoffed and pointed at him. "Why should we listen to you?!"_

 _"She's… very important to me. I need her alive for my own reasons." Light explained while playing with his fingers, a pout on his face. "Even Shigaraki doesn't know I'm asking this of you. You do this, and I'll cooperate like a good pawn."_

 _Overhaul stared at him._

 _"You may even ask that guy… what was his name…? That one guy made us spill our Quirks. He'd be able to prove that I'm not lying." He grinned widely. "You were the one who requested me to be an addition to your group along with Toga and Twice. If you grant me this deal, I'll be even more willing to carry out any order you give me. That's a promise."_

 _Overhaul looked at the photograph once again._

…

…

…

Chisaki growled under his breath as he was slid against the floor.

 _This girl…!_

Their Quirks made them natural enemies.

He was a little too far for comfort. Celsius immediately made her water chase after him. Chisaki quickly slammed his hand down on the ground to create a wall in front of him, completely blocking away the water from him. The water crashed against the wall before it started flowing harmlessly back in Celsius and Eri's direction.

Lemillion phased through the wall to continue his assault. The moment he did, a spike shot from the wall straight towards the girls. Celsius' eyes widened and she felt Eri tense next to her. She wouldn't have time to use the water to try and do something else. Celsius pushed Eri away as gently as she could so that she could situate herself between the danger and the girl. Her hands were held out in front of her as the spike neared. She created an ice shield in an attempt to lessen the impact, believing that the spike would actually harm one of them. Reducing the damage seemed like a better option.

Still, the spike punctured through her left hand and she let out a cry.

Eri's eyes widened. "Miss…. no…"

With her dominant hand, she touched the spike and her ice traveled from her point of contact all the way until the wall before shattering it altogether. Her view needed to be clear. She still needed to help Lemillion, her injury was no excuse to stop.

The water that was left immobile began moving again thanks to its puppeteer.

"I'm… I'm sorry…" Eri's eyes were brimming with tears, and slowly, they fell from her eyes.

That just broke her heart. Her left hand trembled from the pain and from her emotions. Deeply, she breathed in. Her reassuring skills weren't the best. She could barely smile confidently. But she knew she needed to say something to the child. Anything.

Celsius shook her head while helping her senior. "It's not your fault. It's never your fault." she said as she froze her wound closed. The older girl turned her head to look at her. "Please don't cry." her right hand reached for her falling tears to wipe them away, it was the best thing she could think of right now. "I'll feel better knowing you're safe with no tears." she tried her best to smile, not brightly, but with the thought and hope of wanting to see this girl happy.

Another spike was approaching them. She turned around to try and stop it, but Lemillion stopped it by attacking Chisaki once again, making it stop midway, a few feet away.

Suddenly, an explosion occurred near them, making Celsius pull the girl close to her. Chisaki, Kurono and Lemillion all looked behind Celsius and Eri.

She couldn't help the relieved smile that was on her face. _Reinforcements!_

"Finally…!" She removed her arm from Eri. Celsius was about to get up and ask them for help, but she froze when she saw a familiar figure behind the smoke. She shape of the figure... the sparks...

 _No. no. no._

 _NO!_

Her eyes widened.

It was Light. He was conscious, drenched and panting. His hair was still slicked back and he was staring at the what was in front of him.

The spike that was not too far away from her. The blood.

The _blood_ on her body. _Her_ blood.

Lightning flickered around Light as he angrily clenched his teeth and glared at Overhaul, purple eyes seething with rage.

"WE HAD A FUCKING DEAL!" he viciously struck the spike with his lightning, blowing it to bits. Celsius flinched and hovered over Eri to protect her from any fragments.

Lemillion's mouth was half open. His eyes were widened as he recognized the Villain known as Light. "Kyourai."

"I _will_ show her mercy just this once if you get her away from here right _now_."

 _Shit! What do I do?! Do I attack Light or Chisaki?!_

She was at a crossroads. If she attacked Chisaki, who knows what might happen to Eri while Light just stood there. If she chose Light, she couldn't stall Chisaki and help Lemillion take him down while he had the chance. Chisaki looked like he was on his last legs too!

She needed to chose.

Light's eyes dropped their sights on the little girl, gazing at her with no remorse for his next move. His hand rose and he pointed it at Eri.

"You—!" Celsius moved Eri out of the way and took the hit for her.

She started screaming loudly.

The lightning was stronger than what she usually felt. This was the worst one of them all. The thought of Eri suffering through this attack made her feel sick. For once, she was actually more than willing to take on his lightning.

 _Eri is still behind me… she must be scared…_

She tried to shut her mouth to stop screaming.

She couldn't.

It hurt so bad.

Her body fell to the side with her fingers trying to grasp onto something, anything to ease the pain.

 _Oh god...! It fucking hurts! It burns!_

"Celsius!" Lemillion shouted, eyes wide with horror. He was now faced with the same choices as her. What could he do right now?

"T-Take Eri!" she coughed out blood.

Light destroyed the wall to his left, revealing another room on the other side. Then he stopped his Quirk. Celsius' body stopped convulsing and she lay immobile, heaving as the aftermath. She started getting up on her elbows and knees, her will to keep moving was her strongest motivation at this point.

Lemillion chose Celsius and Eri. He darted towards the back.

Light growled at the blond annoyance before harshly kicking Celsius into the room like a ragdoll. She winced at the harsh kick. He threw a knife after her and disappeared in a flash. Lemillion was about to continue his pursue until he heard the floor break. Naturally, his attention went back to Eri since she was left unprotected.

Celsius landed on the floor on her side and quickly got up to her as fast as she could before running back. Light appeared in front of her in a flash. Celsius yelped. He stopped her by kicking her in the gut, pushing her further back into the room.

The last thing she saw before the wall was sealed closed was Lemillion's worry, Eri's horror… and one of Chisaki's henchmen crawling inside from the other hole.

Her eyes widened.

 _I need to help…!_

 _I need to stop that interference._

 _Togata's by himself!_

 _Chisaki is too dangerous!_

 _Eri—_

 _NO! I NEED TO HELP!_

Celsius got back up on her feet, her entire being fueled by her emotions and adrenaline. She created one of her water-explosion in her palm and tried to hit Light to move him away from the wall. As soon as she was near him, he pushed away her hand with ease and hit her with a lightning enhanced kick, sending her flying towards the other end of the room.

"If you only you just stayed put…!" he frustratingly ran his fingers in his hair, messing it up. "YOU WOULDN'T BE ALL BLOODY LIKE THIS!" he screamed, lightning sparking around his body.

"And you fucking care?!" Celsius tried to attack him again, desperate to lend her help to the other side.

 _If only I really made sure I took him down… this wouldn't be happening! Why is he always interfering?!_

Her thoughts and emotions were going haywire. The people she cared about were right on that other side and a single man was keeping her away from them.

 _I need to win this fight! Now! I have to!_

Celsius was relentless as she kept attacking Light with reckless and predictable attacks. She got him several times with strong hits but his blows were harsher and violent, a major step up from his previous game.

 _Why can't I beat him?!_

"You're so desperate to help that boy? He's got nothing to do with you! He's a nobody!"

He punched her in the face.

"He's my friend!" she screamed. "You don't know shit!"

She locked her hands together and slammed them upwards under his chin.

"And that girl?! What were you thinking covering for her?! Look at what she made you do! She's just excess baggage!"

Celsius warped away from him as a lightning bolt fell.

She glared at him.

 _Oh, you didn't just call her—!_

"You may be stronger now, but you can't do anything because you're still weak before me MIZUHA!" He pulls his arm back and then threw a lightning spear into her.

…

…

…

Her reaction time to that fast attack practically didn't happen. It was too fast.

Light stayed in his throwing position, watching as she staggered back with a hand hovering over the lightning spear. It impaled her on the lower right part of her abdomen. All of a sudden, the lightning imploded. That was it. Celsius fell forward with a hole in her body. Her life was seeping out of her body with how much of her blood was flowing out and spilling on the floor.

 _Not good…_

Her eyes narrowed as she tried focusing on her fingers, things were getting blurry.

 _Why…?!_

…

 ** _GET HER. FINALLY. GET HER. GET HER._**

 ** _GET HER!_**

"Finally…" Light sighed when he walked over to her body. "Don't worry… he can fix you up. You will live."

With one arm, Light pulled her body up from the floor, and then he carried her away. His hand and boots were stained with blood. His hand acted as a futile seal on her wound, her blood slipping through his fingers as easy as grains of sand.

Celsius' eyes struggled to stay open.

Her blood was leaving a trail. That made her sick.

The room started rumbling.

"That damn Overhaul." Light growled when he looked back at the sealed wall. "He hurt Mizuha… I'm not helping this guy anymore. I should just go ahead and find Toga and Twice." he muttered to himself.

Celsius blinked several times. Her sight was going black and she could feel herself getting weaker and weaker. Not a good sign.

The difference in power was so evident with their second round. She knew she got stronger, there was no doubt about it. She worked hard to gain the skills she currently possessed. She was ranked third in her whole class. But that made no difference when she came face to face with a veteran that had gone rogue. He could kill who he wanted and attack who he wanted. His skills most likely got better now that there were no limiters on him, such as the law. Unlike Heroes, Villains have no problem going nuts and attacking their target along with nearby civilians, showing their dangerous power.

He was stronger than her.

He had trained just as hard as her to get to this point back when he was good person.

He had years of experience ahead of her.

That was the undeniable truth.

Luck was just on her side for their first round.

As she weakly stared at the floor while being carried away to who-knows-where, she blinked when she saw one of Light's knives on the floor. He had walked past it without bothering to pick it up. He likely had more on him anyway.

Her eyes stayed glued on it, watching as she kept getting farther and farther away from the weapon.

…

…

 _A knife…_

 _Light._

 _…_

 _Togata… Eri._

 _… Everyone_ _…_

Celsius' arm weakly stretched for the knife that was far away.

Even if she was training to be a Hero, she was still human, there was only so much damage a body could take. Injuries and blood loss were one of the worst damages.

But…

What was her school's motto?

Plus Ultra.

Yes, she suffered heavy damages, but was this really the end for her?

 _If I still have time to think and regret… I should be able to move one more time._

 _Push through your limits and go further than you think you can._

Celsius summoned up the last reserves of her strength and created an ice blade in her right hand. Her eyes were wide as she aggressively plunged the ice blade into his calf. Light winced and instantly loosened his hold on her, then he dropped her as he fell on one knee.

It was painful when she landed on her right side.

Despite bleeding, she forced herself to run to the knife and swipe it off the floor.

"What the hell?!" Light winced, trying to get back up.

She literally tackled Light down to the ground and straddled him, the expression on her face was dark and determined to finally end things. The air around her almost felt like one of killing intent.

"Fuck!" Light cursed as the ice was forced deeper into his calf. He lifted his right arm to try and get her off.

"Stop getting in my way, Kyourai Rion!" She screams in his face before grabbing his hand with her wounded one and slamming it down on the floor before stabbing the knife into his palm, into the floor, trapping his hand. She did the same to his other hand but with an ice dagger, all while ignoring Light's shouts of pain.

"You're going to be arrested when this is all over." she said before pushing his knife deeper into his hand. She was locking his hand in place with the knife acting as the key.

She stood back up but not without stumbling a little.

…

…

Her eyes narrowed a bit as she stared at Light. She couldn't see why he was looking at her like that. He stared at her with eyes filled with sadness, despair and another emotion she couldn't quite see. Unable to move from being trapped against floor, he could only stare and allowed a single tear to streak down the side of his face.

"Why…?" he whispered in a broken voice, watching as her expression turned into a disgusted one before slowly passing out. What did he pass out from? She didn't know. It was none of her business. If anyone should be passing out, it was her.

She needed to make sure he wouldn't move anymore even if he awoke again. She froze his lower legs to the floor with dense ice.

"Okay…" she breathed out. "I need to help…"

As soon as she took one step towards the wall, she lost her balance and fell on her side.

"No…" she whispered. "I need… to… To…ga… ta…"

Her sight was starting to fill with black spots. She could hear the Chisaki disassembling the the ground and creating spikes, she already became familiar with the sound.

She was short of breath.

Celsius was actually falling in and out of unconsciousness, her will to keep fighting and survive were being the only thing trying to desperately keep her from completely passing out. Passing out was not an option.

 _Blood…_

 _My blood._

Her uninjured hand moved to the front of her new wound and carefully sealed it with ice, flinching as she did so. Gently, she maneuvered herself onto her knees and reached for the other end of the wound behind her. Her lower left arm supported her weight to hold her up. Her body flinched when her fingers brushed against her torn flesh, letting a whimper escape her mouth.

 _I just need to close it…_

* * *

Deku was busy keeping Chisaki away from catching up to Eri with his new form.

Nighteye watched his pupil escape with Eri through the hole that Deku had made to finally catch up to Lemillion and Chisaki. Firmly, Lemillion held onto Eri's hand and began to flee with the best of his ability, determined to get her to a safer place.

However, before he left, he had expressed his concerns about Celsius. Retelling the events that happened minutes before they arrived at the scene to Nighteye and Deku.

It frustrated Lemillion to the core. In addition to letting down Eri once more, he couldn't do anything but watch as Celsius was practically taken away to who knows where.

The mission was to rescue the girl Eri and stop Chisaki.

As tough as it was, he couldn't simply choose to help Celsius when Eri needed help. It was tough decision. The only thing he could do, was have faith.

Nighteye turned his eyes away from Lemillion and brought his attention back to the fight.

 _Both Eraser Head and Celsius are missing…_

Suddenly, the wall across from Nighteye blew apart with ice fragments flying in the air. Deku and Chisaki looked at the new hole. A girl was stumbling out of the room adjacent to the one they were in. She placed a hand on the broken wall to help herself step over the rubble.

She was very bloody.

Nighteye looked horrified, the state she was in was…

Deku's eyes widened at the sight of her, horrified. "H-Hyoumei!"

"Annoying pests… they just keep coming!" Chisaki growled before attacking her with his Quirk.

Celsius saw the spikes coming at her and tried to move away in time. However, she flinched and her movements are slowed down thanks to her wound. Despite her bad condition, she avoided a spike from fatally injuring her but she couldn't move away from the one that graze her right side, making her hiss. It was too close to her fresh wound from Light.

Her feet tripped over each other as she backed away for safety.

Deku quickly made his way over to his classmate while Chisaki tried to aim several more spikes in her direction. Midway as her body tilted backwards, he landed behind her before catching her and carrying her away from danger.

"Hang in there, Hyoumei!" he said.

"Midoriya... is Togata safe…?! Eri? Are they both safe?" she asked him while tugging on his sleeve. She looked straight at into his eyes.

His mouth formed a straight line at her question. She saw hesitation in his eyes, making dread form in the pit of her stomach—

"They're fine." he replied.

 _No… why did you hesitate…?_

Celsius peeked over his shoulder and saw Chisaki approaching. Her water flew past her and Deku, and it engulfed Chisaki while pushing him further away from them.

Deku swallowed.

Just seeing her wounds made him feel uneasy.

"Did Light do this to you?" he asked while looking down at the wound she sealed closed. The cool feeling of ice underneath her back and the ice on her lower right was enough to tell him that she had gotten impaled at some point. The ice was her best attempt to stop the bleeding in enemy territory.

Celsius nodded. "But… I finally took him down back there. I wouldn't call it a victory though."

Nighteye's eyes widened when she got closer.

Nighteye looked at the state of her body after Deku left her with him. "You need to evacuate for medical help." he instructed. "You've lost too much blood even with your efforts to seal your own wounds."

She was pale.

The ice could only do so much before it caused serious damage to her body.

Celsius gritted her teeth. "But I'm… I can still move. I'm not useless. I can still help stop Chisaki like this just like when I was with Togata…" she huffed while still trying to maintain her control over the water that stalled Chisaki's movements, she was helping Deku in the same way she helped Lemillion. Nighteye had to place a hand on her back to steady her.

 _I need to help somehow…_

 _But would it be enough this time? I don't know how he got this sudden new level of strength…_

Nighteye couldn't let her continue fighting like this. Her Quirk was doing well in stopping Chisaki, that much was obvious. However, even if she kept Chisaki at bay, her strength would eventually run out, and that would surely result in her death if he came after her. She was in no condition to keep on fighting. And he was positive that she was well aware of that as well. She was just so determined to lend her help in this operation.

Chisaki managed to touch the floor with one of his new arms and he aimed it at Celsius.

Deku destroyed most of them while Nigtheye pulled her away from the danger when one of spikes went past Deku.

Nighteye put his hands on her shoulders so that she could look at him. "Then go after Mirio. He has Eri with him but he's injured. Please keep helping him. Get them both to safety, Celsius."

Those were her new orders.

 _Save your strength to help Togata and Eri escape._

"O-Okay." Celsius nodded while looking at his eyes, seeing the concern for her senior in them.

"Good, get going." he released his hold on her and gently ushered her after his protégé. Once he made sure she had got through the hole safely, he turned to face the fight between Overhaul and Deku. The water had dropped now that its strings were cut, giving Chisaki the ability to move freely again.

Nighteye needed to do something.

…

…

…

"Togata!"

He looked back. "Hyoumei…?" he said and turned his head to look back. He found her trying her best to run after him. "You're safe… thank goodness. But your wounds—"

"Never mind that for now." she cut him off.

She caught up to them and saw how his hair was disheveled along with some bloodstains, indicating that he was carrying injuries on his body. From what she saw, he didn't look as bad as her though. She was surprised he made it so far with his injured leg.

"Can you take Eri somewhere safe?" he asked while huffing like her. "I… I'm afraid I'm not moving fast enough."

 _Are you seriously telling me to leave you behind?!_

…

 _"Everyone! Please take care of Mirio! I just know… he's going to take things too far and need saving."_

…

Even Suneater asked the group to help Lemillion. Leaving him behind was not helping.

Mizuha shook her head. "Hell no. Nighteye," she pointed back at the hole. "told me to take you and Eri to a safe place, and that's exactly what I'm going to do! Now…"

She needed to support Togata since his leg was injured, and she needed hold Eri's hand. Togata needed to be on her right side and she had to hold Eri's hand with her left hand.

 _But first…_

"Sorry this might be a little cold for you." she said before crouching down near his injured leg and sealing his wound. "It should help, so bear with it." she did the same for his other one that was most likely caused by a larger spike.

While she was busy putting herself between them, she didn't notice Togata glance back behind them.

He had seen something horrifying. The sight had hit him hard.

"Sir…!" he said lowly, eyes wide.

Mizuha was too busy trying to help him and Eri to actually catch what he said.

He turned his face to the side while Mizuha helped him walk, hiding his silent tears as his indomitable spirit started falling apart.

Mizuha bit her lip and endured the pain as her body screamed from the injury. If this were any other day, she would have succumbed to the pain and pass out. However, her will and adrenaline kept her moving with the remaining strength she had.

She really needed to get Eri, Togata and herself to safety.

Based on how she saw Togata limping against the wall, she and Togata were definitely in no condition to keep on fighting.

 ** _"This'll be another death on yours hands! Is that what you really want?! ERI!"_**

Celsius clicked her tongue in annoyance. Chisaki was still trying to reach Eri, but with his voice this time. Can't he just give up already—

Eri stopped walking, letting go of Celsius' hand while looking down at the floor, her red eyes wide with worry and fear. This caused Celsius to stop walking, and making Lemillion look over his shoulder.

The child looked conflicted, but yet ready to make a decision. A decision that was not right. A decision that would put her back in harm's way once again.

"Eri…" Celsius said slowly, outstretching her hand. "Don't…"

"Eri-chan, don't listen to him." said Lemillion.

Eri started running back to Chisaki.

Celsius whipped around to try and catch Eri, but her blood loss made her sway to the point where she finally fell to the ground. Lemillion, who was in the same state, had tried to catch Eri by moving out of Celsius' support, but that didn't go well for him either. At the same time, they both fell. While Celsius ended up flat on the ground, he landed next to her on his knees.

His body finally had it. Lemillion's body fell on its side. The older boy could not do anything but let his consciousness fade.

The sound of Eri's bare feet running against the floor were getting farther away.

Celsius pushed herself up while struggling, she had to succumb to unconsciousness. She'd be damned if she passed out at this moment.

"E… Eri! Stop! Don't go back there! Please come back!" she ran after her with a speed she wished were just a bit faster. Her strength was draining fast like Lemillion. Her vision was blurring again. Her wound had open in the front thanks to that fall mere seconds ago.

Eri slowed down a little when she looked over her shoulder.

"Everyone is getting hurt because of me…!"

 ** _"ERI! COME BACK HERE!"_**

Chisaki was saying the same thing as Celsius. The only difference was that _his_ words were invoking fear in Eri.

She turned back in front of her and ran to the hole.

Celsius stumbled. She supported herself by putting an arm on the wall. With her right hand, she emitted a lot of water that rushed past Eri and filled the hole like screen before freezing, blocking Eri's path.

"No…! Please, let me go back! He'll fix everything… you'll be okay again!"

"Eri… you don't have to listen… to him." Celsius said while slowly walking to Eri, minding her open wound. She placed a hand there and sealed it again. "And I can fix myself up without him, so don't worry! We don't need Chisaki to fix us. So, please, come back." she begged her while holding her right hand for her, desperately hoping she would choose the Heroes' side.

Eri stared at her, hands up to her chest, unsure about what to do.

"I don't— We all don't want you to go through pain anymore!"

...

...

"I…"

The ice suddenly shattered behind her, scaring her in the process. She flinched as the ice scattered everywhere. Celsius clenched her fists in frustration. Chisaki had shattered the ice and practically forced Eri make a decision, the wrong one and the selfless one.

"I don't want this…!" The little girl stepped over the broken wall and went back to Chisaki.

As soon as Chisaki spotted Celsius behind Eri, he sent a bunch of spikes after her. With what little strength she had left, she warped herself back to Lemillion's side, dodging the spikes, and ended up flat on her back next to her friend.

Her eyes were having a hard time staying open.

She couldn't get up anymore.

…

 _"Then go after Mirio. He has Eri with him but he's injured. Please keep helping him. Get them both to safety, Celsius."_

…

"Nighteye…" she mumbled.

She failed to carry out his orders.

* * *

…

…

After he awoke, he followed the path that his group had taken. He was alone for a long while until he found a group of policemen that were also separated from the group. He and the police teamed up, and together they took the path that would lead them to Chisaki. It became quite easy with all the ruckus echoing through the halls.

But, he wasn't prepared to see was the sight of two of his friends on the floor, passed out.

"Over here!" he said to the police before he ran over to them.

Lemillion lied on his side, unconscious. Celsius was on her back, lying in the opposite direction with her head near his best friend's legs. She looked the worst out of the two. Her injuries were terrible.

Suneater actually spotted some blood mixed with water just a few feet away. He already had an idea of who that blood belonged to, it made him gulp.

One of the policemen was already calling for medical help with their walkie-talkie.

"Hyoumei…!" he tried to make her respond.

…

Nothing.

 _Okay, I need to make sure she's okay… I know what to do._

He learned about this during one of his rescue classes.

Two of his fingers rested on her neck, the point where her pulse was located. He lowered his head near her face and looked at her stomach.

There was rise and he felt her breathing… but…

…

His eye widened.

 _Not good._

She was still alive but her pulse was low.

She needed immediate treatment, but they still had to get out of this place.

Suneater an arm underneath her legs and her back, and took her off the ground. With her back arcing, it added pressure to her dangerous wound, shocking her awake. Truthfully, she was on the verge of fully passing out, and this movement pulled her back to a more conscious state. Her body tensed and she winced in his arms.

Suneater let out a small gasp and looked at her.

"Amajiki…" her voice sounded weak.

He said something. She was sure he did. She just couldn't register it.

"—take her." he told one of the officers.

She felt herself get transferred into someone else's arms.

A female officer held her in her arms and looked at her face. "I'm going to need you to stay awake, okay? Just hang in there."

Celsius let out a heavy breath.

It seemed to have hit her. The words that she usually heard in movies whenever a character was injured and in critical condition… they were being said to her. Her injuries, they were really that bad? Was she going to die?

Now, she was scared.

She did as the officer told her to do, but that didn't mean it was easy. Every now and then, she found herself closing her eyes from the blood loss, so she would purposely shift in the officer's arms and cause pain to herself. She figured a good painful wake up call would do the trick. She stuck around with the police until they found Eraser Head with Kurono.

Froppy found them and quickly brought them over to the place where Chisaki and Deku were fighting. The fight had moved to the surface after Ryukyu made a hole into the ground. Ryukyu had to carry Eraser Head and Celsius up to the surface, seeing as they couldn't move in their condition.

...

...

Seeing Eri and Deku safe thanks to Eraser Head was definitely a relieving sight. Celsius got worried for a moment when things didn't look good for Deku. He looked like he was in pain, Eri too.

However, that sweet relief just vanished as soon as she remembered her state. Her fear had dialed up to eleven. She could feel the pain now that her adrenaline was wearing off. It scared her immensely.

 _I need to stay awake…_

 _The ice is melting off… I need to…_

 _If I pass out… I might die…_

 _I need to…_

Celsius was sitting up against Ryukyu's giant nose who was still in her dragon form. Then slowly, she felt her body tilt to the side until she just collapsed on her side, barely able to keep her eyes open anymore. But she needed to stay awake. That's what the officer said. She was scared of passing out this time. If she did, she might not even wake up anymore.

"Someone bring a stretcher here! She needs immediate treatment!" Ryukyu hollered for one of the paramedics. "Hurry!"

 _I'm scared…_

* * *

Kirishima grinned weakly at Tsuyu and Uraraka as he was being carried away on a stretcher, trying to lighten the mood a little. He heard that they succeeded, that was more than enough to try and smile. Taishiro, who had been walking alongside the paramedics who carried Kirishima, saw Tamaki approaching him, and a happy relieved smile immediately appeared on his face along with some tears in his eyes.

"Tamaki!" he cried in relief. His oldest intern was up and walking despite his face injury.

He had seen two interns out of his total three. That was good. But now, where was the third one?

"Tamaki, have you seen Micchan? Wh-Where is she?!"

It was obvious to him that his junior and the Pro Hero in charge of his internship shared some history together. It had been obvious since the first day the three of them walked into the office together. He was certain that if he saw her now, worry would fill his being.

That's how Amajiki felt when he saw her.

The third year turned his body and pointed a finger. The moment the Pro Hero landed his eyes on the figure being carried away; he swore his heart dropped. That was not what he wanted to see.

Kirishima, who heard his friend's particular affectionate nickname, turned his head and saw Taishiro dash off somewhere, most likely to Mizuha.

"Wh-What happened to Mizuha?" he asked Tsuyu while trying to crane his neck to see. He actually caught a glimpse of her jacket and shirt soaked in her own blood.

After Nighteye, she was the second worst casualty.

Tsuyu's eyebrows curved up worriedly, "She's in bad shape… they said she lost a lot of blood." she resumed what she overheard. "She nearly went into shock from how low it was."

Kirishima wanted to sit up or just get out of the stretcher to see her, but the paramedics forced him down.

Her jacket was teared up along with a part of her shirt. Dried bloodstains were on her face, arms and clothes. She was in the complete opposite state from when he last saw her, which was more than ten minutes ago.

"Micchan…!" Taishiro called her name tearfully, his hands hovering up above her, not knowing what to do with them.

Her onyx eyes stared at Taishiro's yellow ones. The other person could tell what the other one was feeling by simply looking at their expression. Taishiro was worry while Mizuha was fear. She clinging to her conscious state fearfully.

 _… It's cold._

Searching for some warmth, she weakly reached a hand towards him, silently asking for some type of comfort and warmth from him. Anything to just ease her mind.

She swallowed and her mouth opened a little as her brows knitted together.

 _I'm scared._

"Can I ride with her?" the blond Hero immediately asked.

…

…

The paramedics allowed him to get in Mizuha's ambulance. They saw how their patient wanted his presence around her since it seemed like he was having a calming effect on her once he held her hand in both of his large hands.

Mizuha's ambulance was the second one to take off towards the hospital after Nighteye.

"Taishiro… I'm scared…" she whispered, eyes tearing up.

He breathed through his nose before nodding. "I know." he said softly, wiping a tear that escaped from her eye. "But it's okay, you're in good hands now."

Her eyes blinked slowly.

A paramedic watched the exchange between the two. Then he looked at the girl. Needless to say, her wounds were bad, especially the one that impaled her. But it was surprising how she managed to stay conscious despite her blood loss. She must have really been adamant about staying awake.

They were in the process of heating the ice, it would be alright since they would still be under the effect of the cold. It most likely last until they reach the hospital, where she would receive proper treatment.

"She's a clever one." the paramedic spoke, breaking the silence. Taishiro sniffed and looked at the paramedic while rubbing his nose. "She sealed her own wounds with her Quirk. She helped constrict her own blood vessels which slowed down the inflammation process. That was some quick thinking."

Taishiro smiled a little at that. "Yeah, she's a smart girl." he said while watching her visibly relax.

* * *

…

…

…

Thanks to Deku passing on the information from Celsius, the police charged into the room where Light was in. The moment they arrived inside, the police froze. They were shocked at the sight, so shocked that they took a few seconds before snapping out and calling for medics.

Inside the room, was Light, in the same position that Celsius left him in.

But...

Light felt bubbles of blood coming out of his mouth. He coughed as he choked on his own blood.

The scene was bloody. His own pool of blood surrounded his body, his hands pierced into the ground and his legs frozen to the ground, the ice was already melting though. It would have been easy for him to break free if he kicked his legs up. But he didn't. His eyes were staring at the ceiling, almost looking lifeless. His life _was_ practically leaving him.

"He needs immediate treatment!"

"… We'll have to bring him to the same hospital as the Heroes…"

"B-But… The Villains need to be brought to the Villain Hospital in Takodana!"

"Our job is to save lives! It doesn't matter right now! It'll take too long, and he'll eventually die!"

The paramedics looked at each other, conflicted about making the right choice.

A policeman quickly got down on one knee next to Light and proceeded to yank out the knife stuck in his hand. He didn't waste time taking out the ice blade in his other hand.

Light didn't move.

"We'll take responsibility. For now, just get him to the hospital!"

* * *

 **DONE! The Overhaul Arc is over (all that's left of it is the hospital stuff~)**

 **Now, about the end, where Mizuha starts getting scared about her condition... I always keep in mind that, at the end of the day, Mizuha is still human. This is the first time that Mizuha gets injured to this extent and this becomes terrifying for her. I like to think that someone her age would fear death when they see their own blood flowing out. I try to make her as relatable and human as possible.** **And, when someone loses a lot of blood... they can't just miraculously keep going at full power. That's another thing I try to keep in mind. Make things realistic, y'know?**

 **Also, I didn't want her getting too involved with Overhaul, but I needed her to get involved enough to have some sort of contact with Eri. I thought that this was the best way to do it.**

 **I'll see you guys in the next chapter! And, I look forward to your reviews!**


	29. Chapter 29: The Edge of Remorse

**Hey, hi, hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? I meant to get this chapter WAY earlier than now... but I had complications including a pathetic writer's block. I was in a slump, I guess. Still, I'm taking my time since I don't want to be at the same pace or ahead of the anime.**

 **Also, I've been thinking... I still want to keep writing this story while having the anime and manga side-by-side. As you guys might or might not have known, the manga and anime are not identical, and I take advantage of that. Things may be added or removed. So, I was thinking, maybe I should put this story on hold when the current season (Season 4) stops, and then resume when the next season comes out. It would give me time to adjust my plans if the manga moves in a direction that does not work with the plot I had in mind.**

 **This is something I haven't finally decided on doing but if it does come to it (high chance it will), don't fret because I still have some chapters I would want to write before putting this story on a hiatus! I've watched the second movie before this damn global virus got too serious AND I have BNHA light novels. It's most likely I would use the light novels instead of the movie though as material before the hiatus.**

 **I'm just putting it out there so I don't drop this last minute if I decide to put this story on hiatus.**

 **Anyway, let's move on to the chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

...

...

...

When Mizuha opened her eyes again she almost wished she kept them shut. The blinding fluorescent light coming from above her was terribly blinding for someone who had yet to adjust to brightness. She didn't know what was worse, this light or the light coming from a window. In her opinion, both were equally bad. With squinted eyes, she tried to look around with only her eyes.

It looked like she was in a hospital room.

 _Obviously… where else would the ambulance bring me?_

It was when she began craning her neck, fisting her hands and moving her feet that something appeared above her. She recognized the face very well. She loved this person with all her heart.

"Mommy…"

It didn't matter how old she was. The childlike term would sometimes come out without even thinking.

Mizuki smiled at her daughter before sitting back down. Mizuha's eyes and head followed her mother's movements as she stared at her curiously.

"How are you feeling? In pain?"

Mizuha took a moment just to _feel_.

"Compared to back then… I'm feeling way better. Still in pain though."

Her mother only nodded, understanding full well thanks to her past experiences. "You have stitches on the areas where you were impaled," The memory of seeing Light throw a lightning spear at her flashed into her mind. "And you have painkillers in your system. It's best if you stay put like this so you don't hurt yourself from needless movements. Recovery Girl wants you to recover some strength and heal a bit on your own before she can come and heal you."

"Is she here?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Her eyes drifted to the curtain behind her mother. She blinked. From what she could tell, there was light coming from the window on the other side, revealing a silhouette of someone lying in the bed behind the curtain. Oh. So, she was sharing a room.

"Who's on the other side?"

Mizuki turned her head as she glimpsed behind her, waiting. A relieved sigh escaped her. "Fat Gum." she answered. "When your father and I got here, he was sitting by your bed and not listening to the nurses. I had to force him back in bed."

Mizuha took a few seconds to let that sink in.

This evoked an amused giggle to erupt in the girl. The image was one she clearly wanted to see herself. The guy in charge of her work-study forced to get into his bed by her own mother. Oh, how amusing it must have been.

The news about the Heroes and the Haissaikai was on the news. Luckily, Mizuha's parents happened to be at least two hours away from the university hospital where the Heroes were being treated. Thanks to Taishiro and the doctors, Mizuki was well informed about what happened. She appreciated how the tall blond stayed by her daughter's side during her time of fear. If anything, she would have been surprised to know if her daughter remained calm throughout the whole thing. This was a first.

Mizuki's first major wound was nothing comparable to her daughter's first.

Across from Mizuha was a sleeping Amajiki. She could tell from the messy dark hair sprawled on the pillow. If most of the people from the same internship was in the same room, it was probably fine to assume that Kirishima was also in the same room with his bed in front of Taishiro's.

"Hm? Where's dad though?"

"He just went to get some water bottles. He'll be back shortly."

"And Shiran? Wait when exactly did you guys get here? How did you know? Was… Was this on the news?!"

"He'll come when he has time, for now." she answered her first question as she pulled her covers higher. "Just rest and stop asking questions." she said sternly.

Mizuha pouted. "I was just curious." she muttered before turning her head to the other side.

"I know, but you got people sleeping in this room." she pointed at Amajiki as the most obvious example. "We don't want to wake them up by talking. Everyone needs their rest, including you." Mizuki said while slowly lowering the volume of her voice.

Mizuha rest her head properly on her pillow and just stared at the white ceiling above her. It was time for her to recollect the memories of the mission and make sense of what happened. She knew that Chisaki was defeated and that Eri was left unconscious with Midoriya.

"The doctor said that the size of the damage was smaller than expected. You still lost a lot of blood back there though." she informed her daughter by summarizing the words. "It was as if your opponent was being very careful in how they were attacking you. They were trying to cause minimum damage to your body…" Mizuki said while staring at the spot where she saw her daughter's wound when she arrived.

"It was Light, wasn't it?"

Mizuha scoffed in annoyance. "Yep. That psycho's always trying to pull something to try and kidnap me."

Mizuki huffed and crossed her legs. "He's lucky he isn't in front of me right now." Mizuha looked at her mother in amusement, a funny smile appearing on her face. "I'd teach him more than one lesson about even touching my daughter." she grumbled before picking up her phone and unlocking it. "Too bad that the police got to him first."

Ah, parental love. The unconditional love. The love of a parent who used to be a Hero. Her mother probably wasn't saying that threat lightly.

She really loved her mother.

 _So… he really got arrested?_

 _I wonder if they're going to bring him to Tartarus..._

 _… At least, I can live in peace again._

* * *

 ** _…_**

 ** _…_**

 ** _…_**

 ** _As soon as I awoke from my long nightmare, I found myself being moved into another stretcher. A peculiar one. One that would no doubt restrain all my movements._**

A gasp.

Light trashed out of the police's grip, surprising the lot of them.

"Stop him!"

"Don't move!"

The students of the university, specifically the nurses, let out shrieks as they moved out of the way when Light bolted out of the room with a face that could only be depicted as one of desperation. He was out of knives, making his warping ability a little bit at a disadvantage. He could only rely on the pieces of metal that were found in the building, shooting from one spot to the next to escape.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

He warped away from the policemen running after him. When he stopped, he nearly crashed into a male student holding a clipboard. The guy looked terrified at the sight of him, bracing himself while holding up his clipboard. Light quickly turned on his heel and avoided colliding into him while side stepping. His body nearly flew onto the tiled floor from how clumsy and fast he was moving, his flight response going haywire.

He just needed to leave. To get out of this place. Possibly go into hiding.

It all happened so very quickly. He wasn't quite sure how he was able to catch sight of it himself. But, for a brief moment, he had seen a man entering a room while holding a water bottle while he kept running in the hallway. The inside of the room was revealed.

An all too familiar girl was lying on a hospital bed, smiling at the person who was coming inside.

 _Mizuha._

 _That girl…_

 _THAT—_

…

…

Taishiro, who was resting peacefully in his bed, suddenly awoke from the sound of their door slamming open. Amajiki, who was also sleeping just seconds ago, literally jolted in his bed with an eye wide open. Kirishima was also surprised.

The frightened shout of a man and woman did not help them calm down.

Neither did Mizuha's sudden shout for someone to get away.

Taishiro swung his legs over the bed before ripping the curtains to the side to check out what was going on. The Villain identified as Light was standing in front of their doorway, panting and looking panicked.

"What?! What is he doing here?!" Kirishima's muffled yell manage to sound in the room. He had also gotten out of his bed to look behind the curtain albeit he was too bandaged up to actually do anything if he wanted to.

Mizuha's shock was reflected in Light's eyes. Despite her mother's words from earlier, she attempted to defend herself by sitting up. Her body wasn't quite ready to move around yet so pain flared inside of her. She winced and held her side.

Light took sudden long and quick strides towards her, reducing the distance between them in mere seconds.

"Wh… WHY?! WHY DID YOU—?!"

Taishiro growled, "You better back the hell away from her!" he shouted while grabbing the remote sitting on the night stand. He was about to pitch it at the guy's head and then throw a fist in his face if he kept getting closer.

… Until a beam of water shoved Light out of the room. The water slammed him into the wall facing the room, not stopping until he received a face full of water, practically drowning him.

Tenran, Kirishima, Amajiki and Taishiro paused, and then stared at the person who did it.

The water stopped. Light fell on his knees and hands while coughing out the water he accidentally let into his mouth.

Mizuha blinked with her mouth dropped open.

The young nurses and doctors-to-be stared at the scene while keeping their distance.

Light wiped the water away from his face and then stared up, shock written all over his face.

Mizuki was standing in front of Mizuha's bed with water spheres swirling violently in the palms of her hand. Zeus' wrath was probably contained inside each of them.

"You have some nerve showing your face around here! I'm about to end your whole— DON'T YOU DARE MOVE!"

Taishiro and Tenran quickly went over to her in an attempt to stop her before she did something worse. As much as her actions were justified, she couldn't just drown the hospital at her will. They tried to stop her. _Tried_. The moment she glared at her husband AND the Pro-Hero, the two men stepped away from the woman. They were not about to deal with a mother's wrath. A mother's wrath was not something to be messed with. She was scary. They both looked around worriedly, hoping for someone else to come and help before the woman likely killed her daughter's assaulter.

Mizuki kicked the Villain square in the chest, pushing him back into a sitting position.

Light's eyes only stared back at the woman's face. The longer he stared… he had this strong feeling that he was dealing with Mizuha's relative.

Her eyes. The woman's eyes. Mizuha had the same eyes. The resemblance was getting clearer and clearer. Their Quirk was also the same in a way.

 _This must be her mother…_

Just as Mizuki was about to pass judgment on the Villain, her Quirk stopped. Her water dropped into a puddle in front of her, on Light, drenching him even further.

…

…

"Mrs. Hyoumei, I would ask that you do not act so rashly." Aizawa spoke, eyes red and hair standing a few feet away from the woman. "I understand that you are angry but you must not act based on your emotions alone. I'm sure you know that since you used to work as a Hero. It's unprofessional."

Mizuki's eyes did not look away from Light's being. Her arm lowered down though. "I am acting as a mother protecting her child right now."

"And that's fine, but think of the other people in this building. Think rationally about what you're doing."

Aizawa was basically scolding Mizuha's mother and he had every right to do so. He knew that she knew what she should be really doing despite her justified acts. And that was not what she was doing at this moment.

"Besides, Light doesn't look like he's going to fight back anytime soon. He's cornered."

He was right. Ever since Mizuki had attacked him, he hadn't done anything to fight back or protect himself. And the more she looked at him, the more she could see something slowly taking place in his face. It started with his eyes, but then it showed on his entire face.

Hopeless and despair.

He had lost.

He had no will to fight back and protect himself.

The older woman sighed. "You're right," she turned away from Light when she saw the police arriving. "I'm sorry for causing a commotion."

Tenran smiled gently at his wife as he approached her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't we take a walk? It'll cool your head."

Mizuki took her husband's suggestion and walked off with him. She also took the mess she made along with her. She couldn't evaporate water like her daughter so had to clean up the water the old fashion way; by transporting it away. She also took that opportunity to give Aizawa a moment with Team Fat Gum. It seemed like he wanted to speak with them, especially knowing how everyone was awake from that recent incident.

Light was taken away by the police with absolutely no resistance. He allowed them to take him out of the hospital without saying a word.

…

…

…

Chisaki and his lackeys were arrested. Light was the only one from the League of Villains that was arrested along with them. Eri had been successfully rescued from Chisaki. However, her current condition was not quite stable since she was running a fever. They were keeping her quarantined somewhere in the hospital since they were still wary of her Rewind Quirk. Overall, what Aizawa told them so far, it was good news.

Until he paused and continued.

"Nighteye has passed and Togata Mirio has lost his Quirk."

Togata had lost his Quirk. He was hit from one of their bullets, except that this time, it is was the real deal.

Everyone in the room expressed their shock through either a gasp or with their shocked facial expressions.

Flashes of Nighteye appeared in Mizuha's mind as the information sunk in. It was true that Nighteye was in a bad shape when the rescue operation was over. She saw him. Her wound was nothing compared to his. He had an entire spike inside of him. He was missing an arm too. A clearly different state than when she saw him minutes before she went after Togata. So much had happened during that time interval.

 _Togata must feel terrible… that was his mentor, right?_

Mizuha looked at her sheets and frowned.

This made Amajiki lower his head, saddened by the news for his friend. Kirishima stayed quiet as he sat on his bed while Taishiro looked frustrated.

Mizuha stared blankly at her sheets.

 _When…?_

Slowly, she looked at her teacher. "Aizawa-sensei… did Togata happen to say _when_ it happened? Losing his Quirk I mean."

"He did." Aizawa said as he nodded. "He said that he was shot not too long after Light took you away."

…

…

…

 _What?_

Mizuha's eyes widened.

It was one of the Hassaikai. Someone had shot him with those Quirk-erasing bullets. Was it Kurono? Last she remembered, his gun landed meters away from where his body was. Perhaps he was able to reach for his gun after Chisaki sealed her away in the room with Light. Yes, that was probably—

Mizuha blinked.

Wait. No.

She remembered seeing the one with the gun, crawling into the room right when Chisaki had sealed the hole separating her and Togata. He had a gun. He had a damn gun. It was him. The guy who had the Confession Quirk.

She gripped her sheets tightly, her face shadowed by her bangs as she lowered her head. The frustration was beginning to take root deep within her.

"About Light," Aizawa spoke just before she started brooding over it. "You did well in stopping him. However, I don't really approve of the way you did it. You shouldn't be going _that_ far."

This snapped Mizuha out of her slightly depressed state. She blinked and looked up. "What?" she asked with her voice laced with confusion. "But I stopped him, didn't I?"

How else could she have stopped him? He kept coming after her. She needed to stop him. He was pinned down.

Aizawa sighed. "Stopping him doesn't mean leaving him drowning in a pool of his own blood."

The three other people in the room landed their sights on the girl. Her right eye squinted and her brow curved as she titled her head to the side.

Taishiro gaped. "You did what?"

Mizuha gave her teacher an even more confused look. " _What?_ Pool of his own blood?" she repeated his description. "I didn't do that! All I did was pin his hands and legs down! The only thing I did to actually make him bleed was stab in his hands and his calf! That's it!" she defended herself. "I never tried to take his life."

"You didn't?" Aizawa stared at her thoughtfully.

"I swear! The last thing on my mind was to try and kill him! I'm pretty sure I knew what I was doing, I didn't lose my sense of what was right and wrong."

"Because that's how the police found him. He was practically dying in that room."

Mizuha was rendered speechless. Seriously? That's how they found him?

Taishiro crossed his arms and frowned. "Maybe one of Hassaikai or League of Villains tried to dispose of 'im while we weren't lookin'." he suggested.

That had to be true because she was a hundred percent sure she didn't want to kill him back there.

Mizuha nodded in agreement while pointing at Taishiro. "Yeah! I had nothing to do with that! I just did as you told me: focus on Eri. I made sure he was pinned down, and then I went back in the room where Chisaki suddenly turned into a four-armed monster! If anyone was going to die in that room it was probably going to be me with how much blood I was losing…"

…

If it wasn't Mizuha… then who did it?

Aizawa didn't say anything as he tried to think about who could have done it. From what Aizawa gathered so far from the others, seven of the Hassaikai under Chisaki were defeated while he fused with the eighth, Kurono was with him, and most of the gang members were above ground being held by the heroes and police. That eliminated the Yakuza as potential suspects. That left the Twice and Toga Himiko from the League of Villains. The Heroes had very little information about their whereabouts during the whole operation since they appeared to rat out Irinaka and to make a hole in the ground to reveal Chisaki and Deku.

Someone tried to kill Light, hoping he would be dead by the time the police found him.

The League seemed like a strong suspect.

Aizawa nodded his head. "Alright. I'll tell the police."

Mizuha frowned but nodded. "If they don't believe me… get someone with a Quirk-memory-searching-thing…" she muttered.

With that, Aizawa left them to rest up and walked away from their door. He just needed to find a police officer that was still hanging around the hospital. One of them should still be around.

It was quiet in the room for a while after he left. Everyone was settled back into their beds comfortably as they let the information sink in.

"I can't believe this…" Taishiro said in frustration, his eyes narrowed while he stared at the floor. "Nighteye…" he said softly.

The girl lowered herself back on the bed. Her head rested on the soft pillow and she stared at the white ceiling above her.

 _Nighteye… Togata…_

Her fists clenched tightly.

 _…_

She shut her eyes tightly. The memories of the operation flashing in her mind. She recalled every interaction she had with the two. Nighteye and Togata had both kept her away from harm's way at least once. Every moment from that operation, she remembered it so vividly.

 _Was there something I could have done…?_

* * *

Throughout the whole ride to the police station, Light remained quiet. He didn't fight back when they handcuffed him. He was obedient and quiet. He listened to every word the police would tell him. Even though they could feel no resistance from him, they still kept him under their tight surveillance.

They brought him into an interrogation room.

After he sat on his chair, the handcuffs felt painfully heavy on his wrists. It felt heavier than anything he ever lifted. He was completely silent and he kept his eyes on the center of the table, waiting with the other officers for the person who was supposed to start questioning him.

He didn't know what to think at this moment.

He just knew that it was _all over_ for _him._

…

…

Eijin stood behind the glass, standing next to an officer as Light did nothing but literally breathe. Compared to how the police and Heroes described him, his calm and defeated demeanor was a contrast to his eerie and crazy tendencies. He could only take a guess that he was one of those who acted tough but would be reduced to silence when they got caught. Just like a child who knew they did something wrong but fell silent when they knew they were in trouble.

The instructor's presence for Light's interrogation was justified. He was the uncle of Villain's target, and he was Mizuha's guardian while she was staying at the dorm. He had the bigger responsibility to ensure his niece's safety. Any relevant information regarding the potential danger to his niece's safety that the League might pose would also be reported back to the school.

The officer next to him crossed his arms. "He's very calm." he stated the obvious. "I wonder what's going through this one's mind."

Eijin frowned and rubbed his stubbly chin. "Maybe he's trying to keep his mouth shut?"

As soon as the words left him, a tall brown haired man entered the room.

"Oh, Sakurai's in."

Sakurai pulled the chair and seated himself in it. He rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward, locking his hands together on the table. It was quiet. You could hear a pin drop loud in clear if one ever fell. The interrogator kept his eyes on the Villain in front of him, who still fixed his eyes on the table. Light didn't budge, he didn't make an effort to make eye contact with him.

Sakurai raised a brow.

"Alright, Light. I really don't make things as worse as it is. So, let's make things simple, alright?"

"…"

"Did you hear me?"

Light didn't even blink.

"Light—"

"—don't."

Eijin's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Don't?" Sakurai repeated.

"Don't… don't call me _that_. That' _s_ not _my_ name. My name's… Kyourai Rion."

…

"Alright, _Kyourai -san_."

Saying his real name finally made him move. His head slowly tilted up. His sand brown hair was parted messily to the point where you could see his left eye. His purple eye revealed nothing but a lightless hue. Kyourai was no longer just a man branded as a Villain, he was a defeated man. However, this didn't really change anything. This man was still in need of questioning in order to figure out why the young girl from U.A High School was a target. They needed to know what his agenda was and why did it align with the League of Villains for them to team up. Once they finished with that task, they would address his crimes.

"Your target was Hyoumei Mizuha, correct?"

"Yes."

"According to witnesses, you referred to her as a 'pillar', right?"

"… Yes."

"Why did you want to capture her? What did you mean by pillar?"

Kyourai's eye narrowed as he stared at the table. He didn't answer him. His mouth had parted once, but nothing came out. When nothing came out, Kyourai shut his eyes and gritted his teeth before closing his mouth.

Eijin narrowed his eyes. _Why is he hesitating?_

"Kyourai-san?"

"I… I don't know."

Sakurai narrowed his eyes. He wasn't satisfied with that answer. "You don't know why you targeted Hyoumei Mizuha?" he asked before sighing heavily. "I find that hard to believe. I would appreciate it if you didn't lie to me. You're just making this worse for yourself."

Kyourai lowered his head, looking like an animal going back into its hiding spot.

"I'll ask again, why did you want with Hyoumei, and what did you mean by 'pillar'?"

"…"

"You endangered the life of a student, killed and tortured people. You laughed and boasted about those accomplishments, and yet, you chose to remain quiet _now_?"

Sakurai was pressuring him.

Kyourai fists rattled together.

It seemed to be working.

"Why did you try to capture Hyoumei?"

"… I don't know."

Sakurai frowned.

"Tell me, what did you mean by 'pillar'?"

Kyourai's fists suddenly banged against the table, causing Sakurai to jump a little in his seat. Eijin and the officer behind the glass readied themselves just in case Kyourai lunged at the interrogator.

"I SAID I DON'T KNOW!" he shouted, trembling. "STOP ASKING ME SOMETHING I CAN'T ANSWER!"

Sakurai pulled his arms away from the table and leaned back against his chair. He clicked his tongue and narrowed his eyes and the Villain.

"Why are you lying to me?"

Eijin and the officer looked at each other after Kyourai's sudden outburst. They weren't expecting him to just explode like that. The officer quickly left the room and left Eijin to witness the interrogation on his own. The results were the same, it wasn't going anywhere. The rest of Sakurai's questions were given the same answer and Kyourai was looking more and more anxious about the situation. The Villain refused to look at the interrogator as he answered the questions. Sakurai tried to intimidate Kyourai by approaching him and slamming his hands on the table, but it was futile. Kyourai would flinch, yes, but his answers were still the same. Not too long after, the officer returned inside the room and returned to his place next to Eijin. A few seconds later, an average height woman with long hair entered the room, catching all the men's attention.

Eijin looked at the officer. "Who's that?"

"Oh, she helps out the station sometimes. She's an info-broker. Luckily, she hadn't left the station so I requested for her help. She can come in handy in situations like this."

"How is she going to help?"

"Her Quirk. It's basically a lie detector. If she holds a person's hand, she'll be able to tell if they're lying from color of the light emanating from both their hands."

Eijin nodded with an impressed look.

Kyourai stared at the woman with his visible eye, watching her cautiously, wondering who this person was. The woman only smiled at him, at Villain. She did not introduce herself or anything like that, she simply held out her hand to him and asked him to hold hers. His purple eye went from her face to her hand, unsure about what to do. It seemed like he was trying to figure out if he was going to be safe. He really did seem like a cornered animal, except that he did not bite to survive. Once he deduced that she presented no harm, he complied and placed his hand firmly in hers.

In response, she also held his hand tightly but not too much to hurt him.

The woman looked at Sakurai and nodded.

"I'll ask you once again, Kyourai-san."

Kyourai lowered his head in defeat. He was sick and tired of hearing the same questions already. When was it finally going to stop? They were already haunting his mind. Wasn't that enough? No. Of course, it wasn't.

"What did you want with Hyoumei Mizuha?"

"… How many times do I have to say it?" he asked, he whispered. He didn't trust his voice to be steady if he spoke any louder. "I. Don't. Know."

Sakurai looked at their joined hands and furrowed his brows together.

Their hands glowed green.

Eijin pointed at their hands. "True?"

The officer nodded. "He's telling the truth." he affirmed.

"What did you mean by 'pillar'?"

Kyourai lowered his head and shook it slowly. "I don't know…"

Green.

The teacher put his hand under his chin thoughtfully. "He doesn't know… Did he hit his head or something? Why doesn't he remember?"

"No. According to the hospital, he didn't have any head injury."

"… Weird." Eijin dropped his hand. "So, now what?" he groaned.

Kyourai kept staring at the floor with his hand still in the woman's. His body fell slack now that he felt more relaxed. The tension and the pressure were slowly dissipating, easing his mind immensely. All he needed to do now was just answer the interrogator's questions truthfully. He wouldn't be accused of lying otherwise.

Sakurai crossed his arms when he leaned his back on his chair. He didn't ask another question. He was trying to think of something that might give him a straight answer. He couldn't exactly deny his answers anymore, they were being justified by a Quirk. He couldn't just call out a Quirk for being defective either.

The woman tapped Kyourai's shoulder. It did nothing. He didn't react to it. However, she did feel his hand tense in hers, meaning he was giving her his attention.

"Were you a bystander or in control?"

Kyourai took a sharp intake of breath.

"Hah?" Sakurai looked at her in confusion, "What kind of question is that?"

The woman paused and stared up at ceiling, thinking of a proper answer. "A question that he would understand the meaning of?" it sounded more like question to Sakurai. "He knows that he's after that girl. So, I want to know if he was a hundred percent there since he doesn't know what he wanted with her."

Kyourai only let out a hollow laugh as a response. His hand holding the woman's lost its strength. He pulled his hand away and he just shook his head while covering his face with both of his hands. "Does it even matter? It wouldn't change a damn thing."

"What do you mean it won't change?" Sakurai prodded.

The woman tilted her head. "It'll change how _we_ see things."

"It won't erase all the crimes I've committed!" he was becoming hysterical. "I have all sorts of blood on my hands! I slaughtered and tortured people… people whose names I didn't even know… even faces I don't know! I don't know who they could have been… what future they could have had. I took away the futures of many people! I'll just be thrown into Tartarus like every dangerous villain because I know full well people see me as a threat! I have no future…"

He was heaving.

The woman grinned. "You were a bystander. You had no control." she affirmed. "You lost your self and identity for several years, and now finally came back to see what the reality has in store for you. How sad."

Kyourai narrowed his eyes at the woman at that last comment. It looked like she enjoying the fact that she deduced the truth with a simple question.

"Wait!" Sakurai suddenly said with his hand up to stop her. "How can you prove what you just said is true?" Sakurai asked, looking clearly unconvinced.

The woman chuckled. "Easy." she snatched his hands and held them firmly with her two. She stared dead into his eyes and smiled. "All this time, your actions were never your own. You hurt people against your own will. Am I right?"

Kyourai gritted his teeth and didn't look away from her eyes. He shook his head. "My answer won't change anything."

"For _you_ but it might help us." she grinned. "So, answer the question, Kyourai Rion."

His answer really wouldn't change anything. Nothing for him, and nothing for the woman's Quirk. There was no escape from her question. The only thing that would reveal or change anything would be how he answered the question. It would represent how he felt and how he would choose his next step.

…

…

…

"No."

Their hands lit red. He was lying, causing a chuckle to escape the woman as she felt proud for figuring out the truth in a matter of minutes. All the people watching the two were in shocked at the revelation. This made things a lot more difficult and complicated.

But…

Kyourai answered negatively. He chose to. He chose suffering instead of the truth. He chose a dark place rather than a speck of light that might give him hope.

He didn't want any hope.

He wanted to keep the blood on his hands.

* * *

…

…

The next day, Recovery Girl made her rounds. She dropped by to see those who were involved in the recent rescue mission, dropping one of her kisses on those who needed healing. However, Mizuha's turn was put on hold again. The little old lady felt that she needed at least one more day of rest before she could heal her with her Quirk. Her turn would have to be tomorrow.

Amajiki, Kirishima and Taishiro were getting discharged the day they were healed, leaving Mizuha as the single intern from Fat Gum's Agency. Actually, everyone else was leaving aside from two students. She was one of the two that remained at the hospital.

Togata and Mizuha were told stay another day.

With Fat Gum fully healed, he left the hospital first since he had things to take care of. He was skinny but he was already stuffing his face to get back his fat. He started off light since he was dealing with hospital food. Taishiro was chewing on a banana when he lightly tousled Mizuha's hair and patted her head while telling her to take care before leaving.

Now, it was the other two's turn to leave.

Mizuha sulked when she saw Kirishima stretching in his school uniform while Amajiki silently watched his junior while sitting at the end of his bed. The two were getting ready to head out. She slumped in her bed even further when she saw Amajiki push himself up on his feet, indicating that they were finally leaving. The girl had to spend another night in the hospital… honestly, she was getting tired of sleeping in hospitals. She wanted to be in her own damn bed while snuggling with her favorite pillow.

"I'll see you at school, Mizuha." Kirishima smiled at her when he waved his hand. "Take it easy until you're fully healed, okay?"

The sight of her body back then… he didn't like remembering it. He was really worried about her. Now that she was okay, he really hoped she didn't push herself so that she could heal quickly. He wanted her back on her feet like usual.

"Okay." she said while nodding like an obedient child.

Her eyes left Kirishima's face when she saw her senior catching up to Kirishima. Amajiki also looked at her once Kirishima made it out the door.

"Take care." he said while giving her a small smile. "Don't forget about Mirio."

 _Right, Togata…_

Mizuha only gave him a small quick forced smile. It was an ambiguous answer. She didn't nod her head or give him a verbal answer, hoping this small gesture would be enough to give him the idea that she would do as the others did.

Then she was left alone.

She sighed heavily.

Everyone had dropped by to at least see how the blond third year was doing before getting discharged from the hospital. Mizuha was the only one who didn't. She understood why he wanted to see her. It had to be because of what he saw when they tried to get Eri out of there. Her body was a mess. But still, did he really need to _physically_ see that she was okay? She was pretty sure someone from the Fat Gum Agency told him that she was still breathing.

 _… I don't want to see him._

Not while she felt like this.

Most of her time was spent recalling the events of the rescue operation. Her eyes would stay glued to the ceiling at night as she tried to figure out if things would turn out differently if she did something slightly different. If she did, maybe she could have changed the outcome of something. Togata's outcome. Her mind kept searching for the possibilities.

 _I was the last person with him before he lost his Quirk… I should have done something to change things._

Should she had made then choice to attack Light first before they got sealed away in a room? Would that have solved anything? Maybe not. The possibility of beating Light back then. It seemed impossible with how skilled he was. Even if she had a high chance of beating him, she still would have needed time to beat him if she wanted to get back to the other side. That would mean that Togata would still go through the same thing, losing his Quirk.

Mizuha rolled onto her good side, hiding away her face in the sheets of the bed. Her eyes shut in frustration.

She really couldn't go see him like this. Not when her thoughts and feelings were all over the place.

 _I should have done something different…!_

 _But what…?_

* * *

…

…

The next day, Shiran came to see her. He and Mizuha talked for at least thirty minutes before he announced that he needed to leave. Apparently, he left the house earlier than usual before heading to work just to drop by the university hospital. He knew he was still going to be late, but it wouldn't be an hour late. He made sure of that. Endeavor probably wouldn't be too happy and neither would his colleagues if he was later than an hour. Then again, he probably should have warned them he'd be late because of family related business.

Shiran got up from his seat and smiled at his little sister. "Don't forget to call sometimes." he reminded her as he started turning around. But fingers caught his sleeve and tugged it twice, causing him to turn around.

"Hmm?"

Mizuha stared at him and opened her arms.

He blinked.

"What's this all of a sudden?" he laughed but didn't refuse. He lowered himself and held her tightly. "Acting like a little kid." he remarked while rubbing her back.

"I just needed a hug after what happened…"

Shiran smiles softly at this before rubbing her back soothingly. He leaned his head against hers. "You did well. You contributed to the rescue of an innocent child. I know that there some things that were unpleasant… but you should be proud of your efforts!"

"… Really?"

"Absolutely! I'm proud of my little sister for doing well on her first Hero mission." he grinned before sighing a little. "I just wish that Light-bastard didn't have to interfere with you."

Mizuha started playing with her fingers behind her brother's back.

"Speaking of that bastard, what happened to him?"

"Oh, he got seriously injured so they treated him here. But he was already taken away by the police. What mom told you was what happened right after he woke up."

"Did you hurt him that bad?"

Mizuha shook her head against her brother's shoulder. "No. I didn't go that far."

Shiran pulled away from his sister but still kept his arms around her, he moved away just enough to see her face. He smiled at her and told her that he was glad that she didn't resort to that level of violence. He was relieved. Mizuha started at him too until she turned her head away a little and shutting her eyes. Then she lowered her head, hiding away her eyes from her brother's view. Seeing this, the brother's brow rose up but he didn't try to catch sight of her face again.

"But what if…" she mumbled, the sound of her voice only for his ears to catch.

He only hummed in a questioning tone while tilting his head, angling it in a way where he attempted to try and see her eyes.

"What if the fact that he's still alive and kicking is proof that I messed up again…?"

Shiran didn't say anything for a moment. He blinked and stared at the curtain, her hair, that contributed to hiding her face away. "What do you mean?"

The tone she said her words in. They were drenched in the same kind of tone that he heard her speak in when he opened his phone after five long years. That was setting off warning bells in his head almost instantly. His sister was not fine.

Mizuha didn't answer him for a moment until she shook her head. "No, never mind." she said while pulling her head up and looking at her brother with an apathetic look on her face.

"No, I'm not going to let you drop it just like that. I _want_ to know what you meant. How would his life mean anything to you, especially putting you in situation where you were to blame? That's not something you just say if it doesn't mean anything."

Another period of self-blame was not going to take root inside his little sister again. He was going to find the root and rip it out while making sure nothing was left. He needed to stop it.

He was going to help her now that he was actually conscious.

Mizuha frowned as she saw her brother look a little more stern, a different look compared to his usual cheerful face. It was at that moment that she thought that keeping her troubles to herself again might have been better. The next part could have been avoided entirely.

Shiran loosed his hold on around her and made himself sit next to her while twisting his body to face her. "Tell me, Mizuha."

The sister sighed. "It's just that… I made this new friend recently." she raked her fingers through her bangs as a way to avoid eye contact with her older brother. "And I was with him up against Overhaul, the head of the yakuza group. We were together when we protected Eri… I know we had the upper hand. I know that. But then, Light came and he…" her fingers clutched her bangs. "He separated me from Togata… he lost his Quirk while I was gone. He was shot by a Quirk erasing bullet."

Shiran slowly closed his eyes and breathed out through his nose. A small reassuring smile appeared on his lips as he gently undid her fist with both of his hands, and he ran his thumb against her knuckles to soothe her. "Mizuha," he started softly. "If what you're implying is that it's your fault because you weren't by his side… _That_ will never be your fault. It shouldn't be."

She ripped her hand out of her brother's and stared at him with wide eyes, surprising him. "Light got in the way and then Chisaki isolated us… I could have done something… I know that! He came after me after I defeated him once!" she started gritting her teeth as she lowered her gaze to stare at the hands that slowly rose between them. She stared at her palms as if she saw an answer within them. "… Light was vulnerable back when I defeated him for the first time… He was unconscious. He was defenseless." her hands dropped on the bed. Her eyes began blinking away the slight tears of frustration that were threatening to become a bigger in volume. "The more I think about it… the more I think that maybe _killing_ him or something would have made a huge difference—"

" **Mizuha!** "

She jumped.

Shiran instantly grabbed her head and made her look at him. He brought his face closer to hers and looked into her eyes. "Listen to me." he _commanded_ sharply. This sudden gesture and sense of authority in his voice was enough to shock her. Her mouth fell a bit open as she stared back at her brother who had his eyebrows narrowing down. "You _can't_ think like that. Don't let yourself think that way. Never! You hear me? Not even if you're just saying that out of pure spite and frustration."

"But wouldn't that have made a difference—?!"

He shook his head. "I don't care if it would!" he said in a loud voice before he removed his hands from her head and reached down to grab both of her hands. He held each one in a single hand between their bodies, showing her hands to herself. "See these hands? These hands were meant to save, to protect, to help, to draw, they were meant to do anything but take life."

Mizuha stared at her hands quietly and did not provide her brother with a response.

His hold loosened around her wrists just enough for them to tilt downward a bit. "I understand that you're frustrated because of him, I get it. But you really mustn't think like that. You'll only drown yourself in regret, and that's a place I definitely don't want you back in. You've done so well, you can't go back into a pool of self-blame."

Then he hugged her tightly. "Yes. It's unfortunate that your friend lost his Quirk, but you can't blame yourself for that. You can't. Especially if it means regretting that you did not take someone's life." he pulled away from her and held her face gently. "That was definitely not your fault. Okay?"

Mizuha only stared at the brother, blinking a few times while swallowing down a lump.

"Mizuha."

The girl only leaned her head against the left side of his hand, frowning as she looked away from the eyes that matched hers. "… I know that I'm still going to be thinking about it for a while." she muttered.

"And that's fine, but don't let your thoughts swallow you. You have to remember that taking life is never a good answer. Think about it once, and then let it go. Talk to someone if you need to. You can call me or mom and we'd gladly listen to you. Even your friends. I'm sure Kirishima would seem like a good listener." he removed his hands away from her face and dropped them on his lap. "I mean, he's already listened to you before."

It was faint, but this made Mizuha recall Kirishima's actions which caused the right side of her mouth to tug upwards for a brief moment. This did not escape Shiran's eye and it was enough for him to feel a little relieved. It was like he could see the cloud above her head slowly clearing away.

"Yeah."

Shiran smiled at his sister before holding her in his arms and affectionately petting the back of her hair. When he felt her reciprocate the gesture, it made him sway the both of them gently, side to side. As much as he'd like to avoid situations where his sister was feeling sad or frustrated with something she'd rather keep to herself, he was sort of glad it happened again. He was glad he helped her get over a hurdle like a good brother should. It was impossible to do so while he was sleeping. It pained him to know how his sister grew up to be someone who would keep to herself to avoid hurt or complications. He loved his sister dearly so it was frustrating to find out how he couldn't do anything back then. Perhaps a few simple words would have turned the whole situation around since she was still young and vulnerable. A few words that would help rebuild that bridge that collapsed and never mended for a long time.

Not this time.

This time, he would help fix the cracks that had formed, reinforcing them once mended.

 _Shiran smiled at his baby sister. She looked so cute in his arms that he couldn't help nuzzling his nose against her forehead._

 _"Hiii Mizuhaa~ I'm your big brother! My name is Shiran!"_

He promised. He promised that he would be her shield to protect her so that she can smile and be happy.

Shiran missed his chance to fulfill that promise at a crucial time in her life. But he was still given a chance to do it now.

"You'll be fine." said Shiran.

It only took a few seconds but she replied.

Mizuha nodded her head against him and muttered a quiet 'okay'.

"I really hate that guy..." Mizuha sighed.

"I know."

Not too long after, a nurse entered the room. She notified Mizuha about how Recovery Girl was ready to treat her and that the doctor would be seeing her before she was discharged. The nurse went inside the room to make sure she was healed enough to move without feeling too much pain.

Shiran announced that he would be leaving and waved his hand as he left the room. He left before she did and was able to see someone standing next to her door. He found a student from her school standing there with a surprised look on his face that was quickly replaced with a friendly smile.

 _Too sunshine-y,_ Shiran thought as he squinted his eyes.

 _Ah, wait a moment. There were only two students left… so he must be—_

The nurse walked out of the room, followed by Mizuha. Shiran purposely blocked her sight from the student behind her and smiled brightly at his sister. He figured he should let his sister recollect herself before she comes face to face with the person whose condition she blamed herself for.

"You take care now~" He said cheerfully while lightly pinching her cheek. This made her pout a little. Her hand rose up to lightly swat his hand away, but he avoided her hit by pulling away in time. She gave him a little smile and followed after the nurse again.

Once she turned around the corner, Shiran sighed and stepped away from the third year. He turned around to face him while pointing at the door. "Did you happen to hear…?"

Togata apologized sheepishly as he nodded his head, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I'm sorry."

Shiran waved it off. "It's fine." he laughed lightly. "I'm Shiran Hyoumei, Mizuha's older brother."

In Togata's head, the sound of a dog barking went off in his head before illustrating a little white dog.

 _OH!_

"I'm Togata Mirio, Hyoumei's friend."

Shiran was right about who this younger fellow was.

Shiran shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled a little. "I take it you couldn't pull your ears away because you knew she was talking about you." he reached back and ruffled the back of his hair. "Well, it's not so bad. Maybe it's a good thing that you heard it. She's prone to self-blame that girl. It's not good, especially when she hides it so well." he sighed before rolling his shoulders back. "I just hope she doesn't dwell on it too much. That's the last thing she needs with the progress she's made."

Togata blinked. "Progress?"

The older Hyoumei took out his phone and turned it on. There was a pause. His eyes widened comically and he nearly dropped his phone. "Oh fuck!" he tucked it back in his pocket. "I'm going to be laaate!" he started dashing off to the nearest window and before opening it, he turned around and waved at the third year.

Then he jumped out the window, shocking the blond boy.

"Whoa! Hold on!" Togata gaped with an outstretched hand as he bolted to the window. He dropped his hands on the lower ledge and peered down below.

Water shot towards the ground before it materialized into Shiran's form that was already running off before his body was even re-completed.

"Huh… must run in the family."

* * *

A sigh.

Mizuha frowned as she properly put on her uniform.

Her reflection in the mirror after receiving treatment from Recovery Girl was weighing on her mind. She kept staring at the spot where she was impaled for about two minutes before she started getting ready to leave the university hospital.

It wasn't so bad. It was just as her mother said. The wound was not as bad as it looked. The wound was not completely healed. According to the school nurse, she half healed so that she wouldn't drain too much from her. She didn't have to worry though, she would heal it again in a few days until it was really gone for sure.

Recovery Girl healed her enough to make sure she could attend her classes without feeling too much pain. It was nearly completely healed, so it was bearable.

But…

Mizuha slung her bag over one shoulder and stomped out of her room.

"I hate change."

The thing she couldn't stand was seeing something that was not supposed to be there, something out of the ordinary. She had a keen eye for things that changed, and it annoyed her. There was that weird feeling of being confused and slightly turned off, the same kind of feeling she felt when she used to come home and see that her room's furniture had been moved thanks to her mother's sudden decision to move around things.

This was no different.

Thankfully, she gets used to the change relatively quickly.

Mizuha walked down the stairs and made sure to move out of the way when she saw people rushing up.

 _I don't know where I am… so I'll have to use my phone to get back to school. Ah… I just wanna go home and cuddle with Sho… or just something soft._

With her phone in her hand, she made her way towards the doors of the hospital while setting up her coordinates for U.A. High School. But as she was about to close the distance to reach the door, she stopped halfway and lowered her phone a little. She was unsure about what to do. Should she stop by his room or wait and face him another day to calm her feelings? There was a possibility that he might not even still be at the hospital. No… if he did leave before her… she was pretty sure that he would have tried to see her, she was sure of it.

 _Because that's the kind of person he is…_

Mizuha clenched her fists.

 _I'm doing the same thing as before… I'm running away again. I'm turning away._

"Not this time… I'll try to go see him if he's still here." Mizuha muttered to herself before pivoting on her heel and walking back.

Until someone spun her back the other way and started dragging her out of the hospital. She let out a yelp when her wrist was yanked firmly. Her eyes fixed the hand on her limb and immediately looked up. She was met with a beaming smile and a thumbs up.

"Alright! We're both healed and ready to head out! Let's gooo!" Togata announced cheerfully.

"Wa-Wait! What the—?!" Mizuha quickly caught her bag before it dropped from her shoulder, a task she had trouble with since her free hand was caught. She had to hold up her arm and angle herself in an odd way to keep her bag from touching the floor, making her walk look a little strange.

"Togata! Wait!"

…

…

…

Like the first time he dragged her, he didn't really listen to her. He just made sure she was following him to the train station while making light conversation. However, when they got on the train, it was quiet. Proper etiquette had to be respected, especially with the number of people around them. She ended up next to the door with Togata facing her. She would keep her gaze outside the window just to keep herself occupied since she didn't want to disturb others by using her phone.

Togata wouldn't be attending classes for a while. She didn't ask what he was going to do. She figured he was probably going to stay at the dorm or probably pack up some stuff and go home for a while.

Mizuha sighed while shutting her eyes, temporarily blocking away the outside world to gather her thoughts once more. It wouldn't be a long ride, but it would most likely be enough to relax and think once more about what her brother told her.

Togata observed her from his spot. He was aware she didn't just fall sleep while standing. Her body was leaning against the door while her arms were crossed. Her rights fingers were making little movements. Starting from her pinky, she would lightly press into her arm, one finger at a time, until she reached her index finger. Then she repeated this process starting from her index to her pinky.

A frown made its way on his face.

Aside from when he dragged her out of the hospital, she had never once looked at him in the eyes. A sure sign that she was trying to subtly avoid him.

The moment the train stopped at their destination, Mizuha's eyes shot open and she easily maneuvered her way out of the train with Togata following closely behind doing the same.

Once they made it out of the station and they were on the road to the school, he placed a hand on her head while they walked, surprising her. She blinked and looked at him with his hand on her head.

"Yes?"

"It really isn't your fault."

...

...

Mizuha narrowed her eyes at him. "You heard?" she dropped her shoulders. "Really?" her brow lifted.

"I didn't mean to. I wanted to go check on you but I saw you had a visitor." he took his hand off her head and smiled. "But your brother is right. You shouldn't think like that. I didn't expect you to be there to back me up, you had your own battle to deal with."

Mizuha sighed and shook her head. "No, I get it." she waved her hand as if to ease his concern. "I understand. I was just frustrated. I probably could have prevented you losing your Quirk. But Light… he just wanted to get to me no matter what. I should have done something other than leave him unattended." She put her hand under her chin in a thoughtful manner. "I don't think I could have asked Fat Gum to look out for him since he was empty on fat…"

"There's no point in regretting things now. We just need to accept it; we can't sulk around because it won't change anything."

Mizuha looked at Togata.

 _That's right… he lost Nighteye._

He was just staring up at the sky as they walked with a smile on his face.

 _Look at him. He's already moving forward despite Nighteye's recent death. I'm sure it's difficult… but it's not stopping him from keeping his head up._

"You're right. I shouldn't let it get to me." she ran her hand over her face tiredly. "Gosh, I really should stop blaming myself for things like things. It's not good for me."

"I spoke to your brother and he said something similar. Is it that bad?"

Mizuha chuckled humorlessly. "I'd say that carrying guilt for five years is bad."

"Aw, Hyoumei…"

"Uhh… don't look at me like that! I'm okay now!"

"Then you should have at least a smile on your face."

"Hey," Mizuha frowned. "You should know by now that I'm not exactly a smiley person."

Togata sighed in defeat. He wasn't about to argue with that.

And once again, thanks to Togata, the atmosphere around them became more relaxed. They ended up talking about the upcoming school festival on the path back to school. From his three-year experience at U.A. High School, he knew that it would be right around the corner, the Cultural Festival. He started filling her in on all sorts of things that would be happening. He even told her about parts of the festival that only U.A. would be doing as a way to make theirs a little more unique.

Needless to say, she became very interested. Was U.A.'s Cultural Festival really that good or was Togata being biased?

"Last year, Kishokei-sensei used his Mirror to create confetti from the students' Quirks! It was amazing! It was like crystals falling all around us!" He said while spreading his arms out for emphasis.

"Whoa… really? I always thought my uncle's Quirk was only really to deflect attacks against him… I never thought it could be used like that. I guess the Festival lets us be creative with Quirks… as expected of a school that specializes in training future Heroes…"

Togata blue eyes shined as he already felt excited. "It's seriously amazing! You'll enjoy your first time!" he promised.

"Hmm… maybe we'll see."

"Ah! I see you smiling Hyoumei! You're getting excited, aren't you?"

"Shhh. You don't know that."

Togata laughed heartily.

 _This is nice._

They both neared U.A.'s campus.

 _Some normalcy._

 _Something fun that will definitely bring joy to everyone. God knows we need it, especially with how things are shifting thanks to the League of Villains. So many things have happened thanks to them. Thankfully, the target on my back is gone now that Light has been arrested._

 _Nothing will be weighing on my mind._

…

…

Mizuha blinked.

 _Wait a moment._

…

…

 _"WE HAD A FUCKING DEAL!"_

 _Eri let out a frightened gasp while Mizuha immediately hunched over her smaller form, protecting her from any fragments that flew once Light's lightning struck the spike. The older girl, who had her head lowered, slowly looked up and saw that the spike had bit blown to bits. Her eyes moved towards Chisaki and Togata who were both meters away from her and Eri._

 _The look on Togata's face. It changed very quickly. He had a hardened look on his face but it changed into a shocked one. The same kind a person would make when the realized something important._

 _Togata's eyes had widened and his mouth was half open after he said a name._

 _"Kyourai."_

…

…

Mizuha tilted her head as she stared at the cemented sidewalk that she strode on. That was odd. How did he know Light's real name? From what her uncle told her, no one knew what Light's identity was and they never released the discovery that the police had made. It stayed within the police but her uncle had told her what they found out.

"Can I ask you something?" Mizuha looked at him as she stopped walking, causing him to stop as well.

"You just did." he pointed out with a snicker. "But go on." he gave her his undivided attention.

"Back when were together against Chisaki. Light arrived. How did you know Light's identity? You knew his last name. How come?"

She saw surprise flicker across his face. Togata looked like he wasn't expecting her to ask such a question. He blinked. He looked away from her and rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's a good question…" he admitted.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this but… the police recently found out that Light was Kyourai Rion but they never released the information because of a chance of uncertainty. So… I was wondering how you could have known."

Togata looked up at the school's building which was not too far away now. The orange afternoon sky created a very calm lighting. The breeze that flew by them ruffled their hair a little as they stood there.

"Remember the first time when we sat down in the cafeteria to eat popsicles?"

"Mmhm."

"I told you I had a tutor that started the whole popsicle-routine."

…

…

 _Say what._

Mizuha's mouth fell open. "Noo… really?"

Togata nodded.

"Yeah. Kyourai was my tutor when I was a first year."

* * *

 **Welp. There we go, some light on who Light is.**

 **The scene with Shiran with Mizuha was actually supposed to be a Mirio and Mizuha scene when I first planned it. However, I deemed it a not-good scene because it would involve Mizuha avoiding him like the plague. Her character development needed to move a bit forward (less running away from her problems) but I still wanted to keep some elements from that scene. And thus, the sibling scene was born.**

 **To Crosswald: Yes. I am aware of how Recovery Girl's Quirk works. Whenever I write a scene that involves the use of a character's Quirk, I check out what exactly their Quirk does so I don't make mistakes. As for your question of when I update, those who have read this story earlier will know that I _usually_ tend to upload chapters weekly. But, as I've stated earlier, I want to keep writing this story while having the anime and manga at my disposal. So, weekly updates won't be happening now as frequently as before.**

 **I hope you guys like this chapter! I'll be looking forward to your reviews! See you in the next one~!**


	30. Chapter 30: Easy Times

Mizuha calmly walked down the path to the doors of her dormitory. She had already parted ways with Togata once they reached Class 1-A's dorm. The third years' dorms were farther ahead.

She scratched the back of her head as she thought back to what he said just before they walked onto school campus.

 _"I know he saw me. But he didn't even seem to acknowledge I was there until I tried helping you. He seemed so completely different from the guy who used to tutor me…"_

...

...

"I wonder why though… I'm curious about that…" she muttered to herself when she climbed up the short stairs.

The truth of what happened to Light might or might not surface once the police reveals who he is. The only little concern she had about his identity reveal was if the public would use this information to paint U.A. in a bad picture. Knowing how the media liked to function, they would try to twist things by making it sound that U.A. not only produced Heroes but also Villains. They were so annoying sometimes. Scratch that. Majority of the time.

She was being discreet when she opened the door. Fortunately, or unfortunately, she was spotted by Jiro and Yaoyorozu who were sitting at a table further inside the common room. Jiro, who was facing the front doors, was the first to react. She pointed at Mizuha which made Yaoyorozu turn around. They exclaimed her name before rushing to the door together, effectively catching the attention of those in the common room.

"Mizuha! Are you okay?!" Hagakure flailed before grabbing her shoulders.

"The others told us what happened! Are you sure you should already be here?" Ashido asked worriedly.

"U-Um, I'm not completely healed since it's still there." Mizuha pointed at her side. "Recovery Girl healed me enough to get back to school while I'm still in process of healing. She'll heal me again soon."

"You had the craziest experience out there! You were freaking impaled and you show up all calm and cool?!" Mineta freaked.

"… Well, that's what Recovery Girl's Quirk does. It helps heal wounds that would naturally take weeks or months to heal." Mizuha deadpanned. "But she did say that if I aggravate it… it might hurt or bleed. She didn't heal it completely for my own sake."

Yaoyorozu placed a hand on her back and guided her further inside the common room. "You sit down for now; I'll go make you some tea."

The others made way for the two but walked with them.

"Huh? Oh, no, you don't have to do that!" Mizuha waved her hand. She appreciated the gesture but she didn't want Yayorozu to go through the trouble.

"Nonsense! I gave the others tea as well. It will help you relax."

"B-But…"

"I saved some cake for you too! I'll go get it!" Satou quickly said before running off.

Then, she found herself sitting on the couch thanks to Iida. He was literally being so careful when he brought her to the furniture, saying things like how they need to be gentle since she was still in the midst of recovery. That nearly made her reply with something about how she wasn't made of glass though. After she was seated, she took a good look at faces that were around her. Some were missing. Bakugo, Todoroki, Tokoyami, Midoriya, Tsuyu, Uraraka and Kirishima.

"Oh, the internship group is staying at school with Aizawa-sensei because they need to catch up on some lessons." Ojiro answered when she asked about their whereabouts. "As for the other two, they should probably be coming back from their extra lessons."

 _Kirishima and the others are catching up?_

Mizuha pulled out her phone and checked the time. It wasn't too late.

"… Maybe if I hurry, I could make it there. I could ask Kirishima if he could borrow some paper or something…"

She was about to apologize to Yaoyorozu for not being able to drink her tea when she stood up from the couch. But Iida and Byakuren stepped in and quickly ushered her to sit back down.

"Sit down, stupid." Byakuren moved his hand away from her head, he used it to push her down. "You're not going anywhere."

"But if I get there now, I won't fall behind the internship group!"

Iida, who was sitting next to her, shook his head and held up a hand in a robotic manner. "Hyoumei-kun, Aizawa-sensei has told us to let you know that you will be staying at the dorm for the rest of the day to rest up!"

"Whaaa?" Mizuha groaned and gave Iida a tired look. "… The hospital must have told him I was coming back or something…"

"And as the class representative, it is my job to make sure you follow the instructions for your well being!"

Well. She wasn't going anywhere now. Not with how the others were intensely watching her. She was pretty sure sneaking out while they weren't looking wasn't going to be a possibility any time soon.

"Yes," Mizuha sighed. "Thank you, Iida." she hung her head low in defeat.

"Besides," Iida said, catching her attention. She looked at him with a frown. "Knowing how quick-learning is one of your strengths, you won't need to worry too much about falling behind." he smiled at her reassuringly.

"Yeah, you're smart! Don't worry." Kaminari grinned.

"I guess."

Yaoyorozu came back from the kitchen and handed her a cup of tea. Mizuha thanked her and cautiously took a sip after blowing on it a little. She was never really one to drink tea like most people. Tea was one of those drinks that belonged to the category of things she didn't drink, like coffee and soft drinks. It didn't mean that she didn't like it though, it just wasn't one of her favorite things to drink compared to juice and chocolate milk.

"We were all worried." Ashido reminded her. "Plus, this was like, the second time you nearly died."

Jiro nodded. "… Yeah."

 _Oh right, that video._

Mizuha smiled a little and shook her head. "Oh come on, it wasn't _that_ bad. The media was probably exaggerating their stuff again." she said in hopes of easing their worries. She didn't know how much her classmates informed the others though.

"Wasn't that bad?" Sero repeated. "You're kidding."

Mizuha looked at him with fake curiosity.

"We saw it on the news!" Ojiro told her.

 _Oops._

Kaminari whipped out his phone and showed her a clip from the news reporting the raid incident. There was a lady talking with her mic, but you could see what was going on behind with all the ambulances and stuff. Then a minute later, the camera zoomed in on those who were being transported into the medical vehicles. She saw herself. She definitely saw red and her body on a stretch while Fat Gum walked next to it.

Mizuha cringed. "… It's not a pretty sight."

"Yeah, no shit." Byakuren scoffed. "You had most of the girls freaking out."

"Kyouran was really beside himself until we heard you guys were okay." Jiro pointed out.

Mizuha smiled, she appreciated everyone's worry. She did apologize for making them worried and made sure to reassure them one more time that she was okay.

 _… This is nice. It's not everyday I get to see many people worried about me. Then again, this probably won't be the last time. These people are my friends after all._

She loved having friends again.

Mizuha took another sip of her tea.

…

…

…

She gently put her cup and plate inside the sink and pulled up her sleeves. She wanted to wash them since she did use it, it was the least she could do after they went through the trouble. But a hand came in front of her and took hold of her left wrist and pulled it away from the sink, they did the same for her right. It was Byakuren. He smiled at her with his fox smile and pointed towards the elevator.

"You go up to your room. Rest up before washing up."

"I'm not disabled!" she protested with a grin.

"I don't care, just go up and rest!" Byakuren said before taking up the space in front of the sink, pushing her away with his hip, and opened the sink water. He was gentle when he pushed, he was careful with her wound. Mizuha slightly staggered to the side but easily caught her balance. He wasn't going to budge. With a sigh, she placed a hand on his shoulder and patted him.

"Thanks."

Byakuren nodded his head toward the elevator. "Yeah, yeah. Get going."

Mizuha grabbed her bag off the ground and excused herself from the rest of the class. She walked to the elevator and pressed the button before actually standing in front of the doors. She was joined by Sero who needed to go up to his room to grab something. The elevator was coming down from the fifth floor. She stretched her arms while waiting for the light to arrive on the floor she was currently on. Then, the sound of the front doors opened.

"Looks like they're back from their extra lessons." Hagakure chirped.

Mizuha craned her neck to look.

Bakugo and Todoroki were walking inside the common room, they already had their slippers on. As usual, the bomber had his grouchy face while Todoroki had his normal face… his indifferent expression. She _did_ notice the way their hair looked a little messy, she could only assume it was because of some type of training they had.

"Hey, Bakugo! Look she's back!" Kaminari said cheerfully, he was now pointing at Mizuha.

Todoroki and Bakugo turned their heads in the direction where Kaminari's finger was pointing. Mizuha just stood there while looking back at the two, she was wondering why Kaminari needed to announce, specifically to Bakugo, that she came back to the dorm.

The elevator made a resounding _ding!_ before allowing the doors to open. Mizuha just held up two fingers to make a peace sign before walking inside the elevator with a straight face.

Sero laughed. "What was that?" he asked while following her inside.

"I don't know." Mizuha shrugged with a small chuckle. "Just felt like doing it."

"Hold the door!" she heard Todoroki's voice shout followed by the sound of slippers running against the floor. As asked, Mizuha stuck her arm out against the right side to block the right door from closing. The dual-colored haired boy caught up and hastily walked past her and entered the box.

"You're back." Todoroki said with a small smile once he got inside.

"Yep, but I'm not completely healed. I still got something over here." she said while pointing at her side.

Todoroki stared at the spot where the tip of her finger rested. He couldn't see it but he could imagine it a little. According to those who participated in the recent mission, Mizuha had been impaled. Midoriya had concluded that it was Light who did it since he was the last person who did it. She was pierced by a bolt of lightning that shocked her all over when it imploded.

He couldn't help but pretend to see something through her body. His eyes remained fixated on the area while a hand slowly clenched.

"Leave me alone! I'm going to my room!" Bakugo roared.

"Aw, come on!"

"Move it, dunce face!"

The three classmates heard Kaminari yelp. They looked at each other, they were wondering what just happened the Electricity user. Then, as the doors began closing, Bakugo slipped his hand inside and shoved the doors apart to make way for him. This was the second time Bakugo had suddenly walked inside while Mizuha was too close, she ended up walking back without warning, she nearly collided into Sero if it were not for her quick steps.

Mizuha gave Bakugo a tired look while he wasn't looking. He just jammed the fourth floor button with his finger and then shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Do you still feel any pain?" Todoroki suddenly asked when the elevator started moving.

"… Well, I guess If I run into a table or something, it _will_ hurt."

"Watch out for the desks in class, it'll be a danger zone for you." Sero suddenly said jokingly.

"Gee, thanks for the heads up." Mizuha said sarcastically.

"By the way, Bakugo, are you gonna give her Sho back?" Sero asked suddenly the ash blond boy standing in front of them. The said boy only stiffened before shooting an annoyed stare at the black haired boy next to Mizuha.

"… Wait, what? You have— you stole my dog?"

"I didn't steal him!" Bakugo yelled. His loud voice bounced off the walls of the elevator and the three winced from the amplified volume. "He wouldn't stop barking at night!"

"Come on, man! Don't yell in here!" Sero whined.

Mizuha's mouth fell open with shock, she was horrified. Her dog was barking at night? He behaved so well when she was around! She looked at Todoroki with a panicked look on her face. She was absent for three nights… what exactly happened while she was gone?! Todoroki easily noticed the flustered look on her face. He held up a hand and slowly moved it in front of her to make her calm down.

"Sho was…"

* * *

 _It was a little after two hours since Aizawa-sensei return to the teachers' dorm to retire for the day. The common room was pitch black but had lights coming in front the moon and lampposts outside the windows. All the floors were in the same type of darkness. Those from the internship, except for Tokoyami, were absent. Everyone was either getting ready to sleep or was already sleeping. The dorm was wrapped in complete silence._

 _Until…_

 _"Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!"_

 _Ashido, despite being one room away from Mizuha's, pushed her face deeper into her pillow with a frown on her face._

 _"RUFF! RUFF!"_

 _Shoji groaned and tried to cover his ears._

 _"RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! RUFF! AWOOOOO!"_

 _"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! DAMN IT!"_

 _If the dog didn't wake up the residents of the dorm, then Bakugo certainly did._

 _…_

 _…_

 _…_

 _"Sho-chan… why are you being so noisy?" Hagakure whined tiredly._

 _"Poor thing must be lonely without Mizuha…" Yaoyorozu said sympathetically while petting the white dog softly, this earned her a lick on the hand._

 _After Bakugo woke up the whole dorm, everyone left their rooms to check out what was going on. They had found the residents of the fourth floor in front of Mizuha's room, they were talking to each other to try and figure out what to do. Well, Ashido and Shoji were talking while Bakugo tried to keep the dog from barking by sitting in front of it in an attempt to intimidate it. Sho seem to have calmed down at the sight of him. Bakugo was the first to actually march to Mizuha's room._

 _"This will not do…" Iida said while pushing up his glasses. "Sho-kun is also part of Class 1-A's dormitory… it wouldn't be right to leave him to wallow in loneliness."_

 _"Maybe he can stay with someone while Mizuha is gone?" Ojiro suggested._

 _"We probably shouldn't leave it to Koda… he was a rabbit. Maybe Sho might bite him or something." Kaminari said._

 _Koda immediately tensed at the thought of his Little Yuwai getting nibbled. His imagination was enough to convince him to back out from the task. He nodded vigorously and stepped away._

 _"… I wouldn't mind but he might ruin my tatami mats while I'm sleeping." Todoroki spoke while rubbing the back of his neck. He got those mats from a building somewhere on campus thanks to Recovery Girl. He didn't really check if there were any more spares, so he didn't want to risk it. He really didn't like the modern flooring of the dorms. Coming from a traditional Japanese house, he found it a little unsettling._

 _"He might scratch my mirrors. Non!"_

 _"Um, he might bite my chords…"_

 _Byakuren yawned into his fists while leaning against Mizuha's dorm frame. With his other hand, he lightly slapped the wall until he stopped yawning. "Let him stay with Bakugo." he drawled._

 _"HAH?! NO WAY!"_

 _Sho blinked while lying on its side._

 _"Well, you look like you just tamed it." Byakuren pointed out._

 _"That's true. He hasn't barked since Bakugo came inside." Shoji agreed. This Ashido nod in agreement as well. "He's super quiet now!" Ashido told her classmate who still had no intention of taking in the dog for the night… or any night at all._

 _"I am not taking care of this dog!"_

 _"The little guy is just a puppy!" Kaminari tried to reason with him while he pointed at the white dog. "All you gotta do is keep him with you at night!"_

 _"He probably feels calmer since you were the first person he saw." Sero guessed._

 _Byakuren raised his hand up. "I'll be in charge of walking him and feeding him." he volunteered without hesitation. He just needed to know where Mizuha kept her dog stuff._

 _"I said I'm not doing it!" Bakugo groaned before getting up. He turned around and started walking to the door._

 _"RUFF! RUFF! RUFF!"_

 _Bakugo stiffened._

 _Everyone stared at the angry student with sleep deprivation._

 _Sho whined._

 _"Fucking hell…" Bakugo muttered._

* * *

"I got saddled with him." Bakugo clarified.

Mizuha blinked. Of all people, Sho felt more comfortable staying with Bakugo at night? What a wonder. But then again, didn't animals have some sort of sixth sense when it came to sensing people's characters? They could sense wickedness and kindness coming from a person be it masked or not.

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor.

Mizuha smirked.

The two residents of that floor exited the box. Mizuha held up a hand briefly when she looked back at the two people inside, she didn't follow after Bakugo, she went straight towards her room. On the way there, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Give me my dog back later!"

Her only reply was a door being shut.

…

…

…

The only good thing about keeping Sho in his room was how well-behaved he was. Aside from the barking on the first night, the dog wasn't causing anymore trouble. Sho did well when obeying commands.

Bakugo yawned and ruffled the back of his hair as he marched to Mizuha's room. He was holding Sho's bed in his other hand. He wanted to take a nap after dropping off the dog in its owner's room. He looked over his shoulder and found Sho padding after him silently. One of the things he noticed while keeping her dog was the size. It made him remember how dogs tend to grow bigger in short amount of time. The dog had definitely grown since the first time he saw it.

Upon arriving at her door, he noticed it was ajar. She most likely knew he would be passing by her room. The boy opened the door soundlessly and took one step inside. He didn't hear a response to his movements, that was odd. He spotted her lying on her bed, passed out. She already changed out of uniform and into more comfortable clothes. Her body was lying on its right side and he could tell she was sleeping deeply, her body didn't even twitch from the slightest noise. It was no secret that Mizuha was a light sleeper since they often found her dozing off on the couch in the common room. No one could actually make it within the three-meter radius that surrounded her as she slept since she always woke up and gave them a pointed look.

She was tired.

From where he was standing, he was definitely within that radius. He walked to the foot of her bed and lowered himself to softly put down the Sho's bed on her floor. Her shirt was lifted up a bit, probably from moving around in her sleep. That's when he saw it. He couldn't completely see it but he saw the closed wound on her skin. His gaze was fixated on it, he couldn't help it.

It was only when Sho brushed past him that he finally moved away and left.

He locked the door behind him.

* * *

The next day…

…

…

…

Mizuha was walking with Uraraka, Tsuyu, Midoriya and Kirishima on the way to school. She was asking them relentlessly about what they were learning with him, she thought she might catch up a bit this way. Obviously, they were not able to provide her with long detailed explanations since they were in the middle of learning the subject themselves. This made Mizuha frown like a child.

Kirishima bumped her side with his elbow with a goofy grin. "Come on, you don't need to be in such a hurry to catch up. You'll breeze through it no problem. Who knows? You might even skip some lessons if you get a good grasp on the stuff."

"I wish I had your quick learning, Hyoumei-san." Midoriya sighed. It seemed like very handy skill to have.

"Right? I wouldn't have to struggle so much in other classes if I could learn that fast…" Uraraka complained.

"School is never easy, Ochaco-chan." Tsuyu pointed out.

The taller girl just grinned while chuckling. "It's actually not magic y'know? Everything in school is structured in a specific manner. You just need to see it."

Kirishima cocked his head to the side. "Structured?" he repeated.

"Yeah. It's how I'm actually able to do math exams without even reading the question completely. Like, I literally just look at keywords and the numbers given to me before jotting down my calculations…"

The redhead next to her gaped. "What the hell… Isn't that dangerous?!"

Mizuha smirked. "I told you; it's structured."

"You gotta teach me these 'structures'. It's not fair!"

"Depends, how will you pay me?" Mizuha asked cheekily. Kirishima put his arm around her in a secretive manner. He glanced around as if to check if anyone was listening.

Kirishima held up a hand near his mouth. "With my eternal friendship." he whispered with a grin.

Mizuha laughed. "Hmm, very tempting offer."

Her phone made a loud sound in her pocket. It was the tone she set when she received a text message. Not a second later, Kirishima's phone almost made a sudden sound. The two took out their phones and checked out their messages together. More phone-related sounds went off around them, it was the other three.

For Kirishima and Mizuha, it was from Fat Gum.

 _We'll be attendin' a funeral for Nighteye soon. Your teacher should be tellin' you the details. Together, we'll discuss how the internships will proceed._

After reading the short message from their respective agencies, the five interns looked at each other and exchanged somber expressions.

* * *

The first half of the day went smoothly. The teachers did their jobs and the students took down their notes and participated in classroom activities.

When the bell rang to mark the start of the lunch period, Mizuha could see people racing down the hall to get some food from Lunch Rush. The Hero was definitely busier than usual ever since the dormitory system was implemented. He had to make a plethora amount of food three times a day. She lined up with Kirishima, Byakuren and Bakugo and simply looked around her. It was the first time she actually made it a little earlier, she could see the long tail of students in the cafeteria.

In line, she was surrounded by familiar faces. Iida, Uraraka, Todoroki and Midoriya were in front of them while Nejire, Amajiki and some other third year behind them. The three groups somehow ended up talking to each other. She could tell that Bakugo was annoyed that he was annoyed that he was so close to Midoriya in the line, he nearly chose to move back if it were not for Kirishima who told him it wasn't worth it.

Amajiki was there muttering about he didn't want to eat in the cafeteria, he wanted to grab his food an in his classroom.

"Kinda weird how you still haven't adapted." Nejire commented. "Ne, ne! Hey, what are you guys going to eat? I'm up for some cold chuka noodles!"

"… Maybe vongole." Amajiki muttered.

Kirishima grinned. "I'm going to eat ramen with extra pork!"

"I guess I'll get tonkotsu… I'm craving noodles…" Mizuha mumbled.

"You're always eating noodles. Eat some rice or something." Byakuren sighed. Mizuha squinted her eyes at him. What was he? Her mom? "I'll have some good old curry. What about you Bakugo?" Byakuren gave the bomber a close eyed smile, he wanted to pull the quiet boy into the conversation.

"Extra spicy Tantanmen." He grunted, not really into the whole conversation thing.

…

…

…

Uraraka could already feel the heat on her tongue at the mental image. "That's…" she said with a cringe.

"Kacchan likes spicy food."

"That's like…" Byakuren trailed off while scratching the back of his head.

"Death." Mizuha finished without missing a beat.

Suddenly, Byakuren and Mizuha started laughing together. The white haired boy lowered his hand down and accidentally nudged Mizuha's arm. The phone that was in Mizuha's hand fell thanks to her grip that had loosened. It fell and bounced once on its side, landing at least two feet away from the line.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry."

Mizuha just shook her head and went over to pick it up. It was pretty obvious she was being careful with how she was moving since she lowered herself at a slower pace. Just when she was about to walk back into the line, something ran into her from behind, evoking a painful hiss to pass through her mouth. The pain forced her to hunch to cradle the spot hidden underneath her uniform and stagger a bit. She didn't even bother to look behind her, she was too focused on the pain that was pulsing in her body.

"I'm sorry," a familiar voice said with no hint of sincerity. "Your class' massive ego was so huge that I couldn't possibly walk around it."

"Monoma-kun!" Midoriya said, horrified.

"Mizuha!" Uraraka cried worriedly.

He didn't even hesitate. Byakuren lunged at the boy and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, causing the boy to tilt his tray and dropping his beverage on the ground. "What's your fucking problem?!" The wind user nearly shouted.

The drink landed not too far away from a certain someone's shoe. Bakugo lifted his foot and kicked the beverage, sending the thing sliding across the whole cafeteria. Some students screamed at the speeding drink.

Mizuha moved away from Byakuren and walked back into the line where Kirishima and Amajiki were looking at her worriedly. Byakuren had gone off, and she wasn't really in the mood to stop his storm. Kirishima nearly joined him if it were not for Mizuha grabbing his shoulder tightly, silently telling him to not get involved, one was enough. But she appreciated the thought.

"But Mizuha…" Kirishima muttered, looking back and forth between Monoma and Mizuha.

"Are you okay?" Amajiki asked quietly with a hand on her arm.

"Just letting the pain pass…" Mizuha sighed with immense annoyance. She knew Monoma was weird but she didn't think he'd be taunting her class like this. He was probably getting back at her for when she didn't think much of him in Gym Gamma. If he was… how petty.

"That wasn't very nice." Amajiki mumbled when he glanced at the blond boy that was being held by the white haired boy.

Monoma didn't move, he was smiling a fake one. "Villains must be really getting to you guys. You can't even tell from an attack or an accident."

"Oh, shut the hell up!" Byakuren spat in his face. "You don't hurt someone who's healing from an injury. You just don't!"

Monoma tensed. "Well how was I supposed to know oof—"

Byakuren shoved him. "You shouldn't even be doing your petty shit in the first place!"

Kendo, who saw the commotion from afar, started running up to the scene. "What's going on?"

Uraraka, Todoroki and Midoriya went to Mizuha while Iida tried to calm down Byakuren who was obviously causing a scene. The last time Class 1-A saw Byakuren get angry, he nearly punched someone. As much as his anger was justified, they didn't want him to get in trouble. Nejire along with another third year also tried to calm down the white haired boy who wouldn't stop roaring his mouth at the Class B student.

From where he was standing, he couldn't see Mizuha's face, Her hair was hiding her face like a curtain from the side. Todoroki lowered himself a little brushed her hair away, just enough to see her expression to get an idea of how much pain she was in. She just had her eyes shut tightly. "Do you need to see Recovery Girl?"

She shook her head, causing her hair to slip from his fingers. "… I think I'll be fine. But just in case," she looked at the faces around her. "Anyone got a tissue?"

The green haired boy blinked, but then he quickly dived into his pocket and fished out a clean folded one that had been there just in case he needed it. He gave it to her, "Here."

"Thanks, Midoriya." Mizuha thanked him with a quick smile before looking at Kirishima. "I'll be back quick. I'm going to the bathroom."

"Take your time. If you're not here, I'll just carry your tray to the table. I already know what you want to eat."

"Thanks, Kirishima."

"I'll go with you." Uraraka said firmly.

"Huh? No, you don't have to—"

"Let's go."

The shorter girl put a hand on her back and walked her through the cafeteria.

* * *

The hook of Mizuha's jacket was caught in between her teeth. Her hands were holding up her entire shirt above her tummy. Her eyes were fixed on the mirror in front of her. From the reflection, she could see Uraraka tending to her wound behind her. As she suspected, Monoma's tray aggravated the wound a bit by sharply grazing his tray against her. She couldn't exactly _see_ behind her, and she'd surely have trouble looking at her reflection in the mirror to tend to it. That's where Uraraka stepped in to help. Mizuha didn't try to object to the help in order to save time. They both wanted to return to the cafeteria.

Mizuha gave her a piece of ice to help stop the bleeding. She had self taught herself learn this treatment from the recent mission, it was very useful. As for Uraraka, she had some salve with her that she offered to use to stop the bleeding. The bleeding wasn't so bad, but they needed to be extra careful since it was still in the process of healing.

"I'm surprised you carry around this stuff."

Uraraka laughed lightly. "I get papercuts sometimes. So, I figured this would be helpful to heal them quicker." she explained. Her fingers finished dabbing the rest of the salve and then she straightened back up. "There we go." she said with a smile before washing her hands.

Mizuha lowered her shirt back down. "Thanks."

"Ah, it was no problem really."

"Seriously, that Monoma's got some big fat issues." Mizuha grumbled while she put her jacket back on. "He's got a disturbing condition that not even modern medicine can fix." Mizuha scoffed while fixing her clothes in front of the mirror.

Uraraka dried her hands. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it… he's just… special."

The taller girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he's _real_ special. I should have kicked him into the nearest garbage can." she said darkly, surprising Uraraka by the sudden change in the tone. But then the girl sighed and pointed towards he exit. "Let's get going?" she patted the brown haired girl's shoulder before walking off.

Uraraka nodded and walked after her.

"But if he tries that again," the browned haired girl suddenly spoke, making Mizuha turn her head to look at her. Uraraka had stopped and was in a fighting position.

"Uh—"

"If he tries that again," she repeated. "I'll probably teach him a lesson or two about messing around." she joked while swinging some punches as a demonstration.

Mizuha scratched her cheek with her finger and blinked several times. Uraraka gave her a bright smile and a thumbs up. She had her back.

A silly grin appeared on Mizuha's face. She shook her head with a small laugh before placing an arm behind Uraraka. "The thought is appreciated, Uraraka." she said with a laugh in her voice. Her arm pushed her lightly to make her keep walking.

The shorter girl grinned, "I got you."

"Oh, by the way, can I copy your notes before those after school lessons start?"

"Sure, but are you going to have enough time? Aizawa-sensei usually gets to class pretty quickly."

Mizuha shrugged. "I'll take a picture or something and copy it while he's teaching."

Uraraka stared at her curiously before cocking her head to the side. "How? He's going to confiscate it if you're not paying attention…"

This made Mizuha pout. "… Well, I'll figure something out. I have my ways." she muttered. Then she let out a proud laugh. "It's fine if he does though! I got another phone in my room!"

Then she remembered how she hadn't really touched that phone in like… five months. It was pretty outdated and its storage was obese.

Uraraka smiled. "It's fine if you're behind by just a little, Mizuha."

"It's not." Mizuha said in a horrified tone. "That's like… the end of the world… I'm always ahead or at the same pace as my classes. I can't fall behind! That's like… failing… what if I don't catch up in time…?"

"Stop getting anxious!"

"Ugh…"

Uraraka patted her friend on the back while she was holding her head in despair.

* * *

Mizuha silently watched Byakuren sip from his straw. The bright color of orange juice inside the transparent drinking tool never disappeared from her sight. Kirishima sweat dropped when he saw how Byakuren slowly began crushing the box in his hand after seconds of sucking up the juice. Bakugo ignored the fuming boy next to him. Byakuren kept his eyes glued on something that was across the cafeteria.

After a few seconds, the three students heard the familiar sound of straw sucking up nonexistent juice. Instantly, the white haired boy crushed the small box completely before removing his lips off the straw. He dropped it in his tray.

Bakugo chewed his food with a disinterested face.

Kirishima gulped.

"… You good?" Mizuha asked, breaking the silence.

Byakuren's eyes moved and landed its sights on his friend in front of him. A second later, he did a close eyed smile and waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, don't worry, Mizu-chan~!" he sounded a little _too_ cheerfully at that moment. A clear contrast to the aura he was radiating which was irritation.

"… You know, there's something terrifying about the way Kyouran is smiling." Kirishima spoke once it became silent again. "The way he can just switch like that…"

Mizuha sighed and shook her head. "You know what they say about fox-like faces…" she picked up the last of her noodles with her chopsticks. "They hide menacing demeanors with friendly ones. I honestly don't know how he ended up like this." she did her best to quietly slurp her noodles. She chewed and swallowed. "But he should calm down soon."

"Don't talk as if I'm not here." Byakuren deadpanned.

Mizuha shrugged.

The white haired boy scoffed and leaned back in his seat. He crossed his arms. "That jerk didn't even say sorry to you."

Kirishima looked at her. "Yeah! A manly person would have apologized the first chance they got!"

"He did."

 _Not sincerely though._

"That was a bullshit apology and you know it." Bakugo grunted before drinking up whatever he ordered from Lunch Rush.

"See? Even Bakugo knows what's up!" Byakuren patted the said boy's shoulder, which only earned him a harsh swat on the hand the moment it landed.

Mizuha laughed to herself. On a normal day, the person who would have gotten angry was herself. Byakuren would be the one to calm her down. But today, the roles have been reversed due to recent events. Obviously, it was because what happened. He probably felt inclined to watch out for her more than usual.

But it's wasn't like Mizuha was irritated either. When he rammed into her, she wanted nothing more but smack his tray down and push him on the ground. Just like the time she kicked that guy from tripping her in hallway back when the first semester began. The girl's self-control nearly went to being nonexistent back then. Right now, the best way of dealing with this was letting the situation sink for Monoma. The boy clearly had some superiority complex when it came to Class A and B. However, there had to be a limit to how much taunting was acceptable. She was secretly hoping that it was eating him.

 _I could always hold it against him… After all, I'm sure he cares about his image. He wants to be 'better' than us. He wouldn't want people to think he'd stoop that low._

Mizuha smirked to herself and put her hands on the edges of her tray before getting up. She picked up her tray and went to the trash. She hummed to herself while putting her items in their appropriate places. The napkin was the last thing she threw after wiping her mouth one last time. When she spun on her heel to walk back to her seat, she heard someone clear their throat. Mizuha took a few seconds to turn and look, she thought the person was trying to talk to someone that was nearby.

 _Well, look at that. That was quicker than I expected._

She found Monoma standing behind her. Her eyes spotted Kendo and Tetsutetsu who were standing not too far away and keeping watch, but they were trying to be discreet.

 _Not exactly discreet if I can tell you're listening._

She figured she should check on her own group. She glanced behind her and found Byakuren and Kirishima watching very carefully. She saw the firm hold that Kirishima had on Byakuren's arm, indicating that the white haired boy must have tried to march over to her spot.

Mizuha sighed and looked back in front of her after displaying an apathetic look. "Yes?" her tone was monotonous.

The taller boy in front of her cleared his throat one more time. "It came to my understanding that I've done something unreasonable."

"Really? What gave it away?" Mizuha shot back with more disdain than she meant.

 _Whoa, whoa. Keep a lid on it._

Monoma chose not to answer her question, he frowned,"I came here to apologize for hurting you, Hyoumei." said Monoma before actually saying his apology. Mizuha put her hands in her pockets. She hummed thoughtfully. Her face did not seem too convinced with this apology; it was as clear as day. This made him squint his eyes. He didn't think she'd question him for not trusting his apology. Clearly, she wasn't taking it like how elementary school students accepted apologies. However, her suspicion was well justified.

"Think what you want, I am not so callous as you imagine me to be. I _know_ when to admit when I am in the wrong. If not, then that would mean I was not raised properly and that would be insulting to my class and my parents."

Mizuha scoffed, "But it's killing you right?"

"Oh, you have no idea." he muttered.

"Apology accepted." she answered his apology with no interest. Despite her previous thoughts, sometimes she just didn't have the nerve to do what she thought. It probably came with her annoying anxiety. "Seriously, though… you gotta stop with this A vs B thing. There's really no point…" she muttered lowly just as she was about to turn and leave.

His ears caught it though.

Suddenly, Monoma threw his head back and laughed. "Begging will get you nowhere!" then he pointed at her with a wide disturbing smile, one that almost reminded her of Light. "I see that you're actually just begging for me to go easy on you!"

"… You did a 180 real quick." Mizuha deadpanned.

Just when she was about to make a quip, a tray thrusted itself in between them followed by the person holding it. The two were startled and they looked at the person who rudely shoved himself between them. It was Byakuren, and he was smiling. Monoma stiffened.

"You two having fun talking? Mind if I join?"

"You again." Monoma said with disdain.

"Okay, I'm done." Mizuha held up her hands, showing that she was now out of the conversation since Byakuren seemed to have taken her place. She turned around and walked back to the table that was only occupied by Bakugo and Kirishima.

"Take your friend with you!"

She waved her hand, "You deal with him."

* * *

…

…

…

Mizuha looked up at the sky. She was sitting in the shadows of the many trees somewhere on campus. The leash that usually found itself on Sho was tucked away in her sweater's pocket, letting the white dog roam free for a period of time. Sho wandered around in different directions but always came back. Mizuha took in a deep breath. She would normally be inside her room on a weekend if she was not needed anywhere. If she were still at home, she would probably accompany her mother to the store out and help her carry the bags back home. But this time she was outside enjoying the cool breeze, it was a little more cold than usual since they were slowly entering the fall season.

She was out on a walk with Sho after coming back from Nighteye's funeral. The mood just made her want to stay out a little longer. The last time she attended a funeral, it was for her paternal grandmother, the only grandparent she knew that was still alive. She didn't know her that well though.

When everyone was gathered together after the funeral, they told the interns that their internships would have to be putting it on hold for the foreseeable future.

And, just a few days ago, the information about Light was released to the public. It wasn't as bad as she predicted it to be. The media _did_ try to slander U.A. but the majority were better than that. However, the piece of information regarding Light that did not sit right with the public is the fact that he was not arrested and sent to Tartarus despite his crimes. The police had sent him to a hospital where he is being examined due to memory complications that they had discovered. They didn't provide anymore details than that. Many were unhappy with it.

Mizuha inhaled deeply while her eyes were closed. It wasn't her problem anymore. Light was under constant surveillance, he wasn't going to escape anytime soon, at least that's she hoped.

She took out her phone and started looking up anything Hero related for while to pass some more time before heading inside.

Mizuha squinted her eyes a bit when she saw something.

"The Hero Billboard Chart JP… it's happening soon."

She looked up again at the sky dropped her hand on her lap.

 _Endeavor is going to officially be Number One. I wonder how things are going to change…_

All Might was the type of Hero who allowed the people to rely a lot on him, giving them peace of mind. His back was enough to protect the people, that's how crime rate was greatly reduced. He supported the roof on top of society. However, ever since his retirement, crimes have be rising. They needed a new type of pillar. And Endeavor had the potential to become that new pillar, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of era he would bring.

 _Oh, shoot. There's also Hawks! He's probably going to be there too. Geez, he's so young compared to the other Pros…_

She snickered. "I bet he's got high school girls drooling over his pictures." she mumbled to herself while checking out articles related to Hawks. "I mean… he's not ugly. He's cool and he does his Hero duties well. I can see the appeal."

She lowered her phone when she realized something. She didn't hear her dog run by the way he did for the past few minutes. Odd. She used her hands to push herself off the ground, and the dusted her back while walking out from behind a tree. She called his name a few times, hoping he would come running the way he always did, but she got no answer. Instead, she heard footsteps walking towards her. She looked to her left and found two people approaching her.

It was her teacher along with another student.

"You should really keep on him. Try to be more responsible. You never know, he could wander off campus and then you'd be in trouble." Aizawa reprimanded her.

"Sorry, I was just letting him enjoy himself."

The student was holding her dog. He probably caught it under Aizawa's orders. She could only imagine the game of chase the student had to put up with.

 _Wait._

She knew this student. She remembered his face. He had wild messy purple hair and noticeable dark eye bags on his face. He looked indifferent while holding Sho in his arms. The girl approached him and took the dog out of his hands while muttering a word of thanks, she was getting a little so she wasn't sure if he even heard it. He was taller than her so all she had to do to avoid his eyes was to stare at something below his neck. His neck…

 _Huh?_

Around his neck, there was cloth. It wasn't just any cloth; it looked the same as the ones her teacher usual carried around his own neck.

 _… And this isn't the first time Shinsou is with Aizawa-sensei… I saw them together before the Training Camp. Are they—_

"Hyoumei." a gruff voice pulled her away from her own thoughts.

Mizuha jolted and looked at her teacher.

"We're going to need this area, so could you move somewhere else?"

"Oh, uh, don't worry. I'm going to head back to the dorm." Mizuha laughed nervously while holding Sho close to her chest. She could feel him licking her arm. The girl swiveled around Shinsou and started walking away from the scene she felt was supposed to now remain a secret.

Her teacher confirmed that feeling for her.

"And I'd appreciate it if you kept what you saw to yourself. Understand, Hyoumei?"

"Okay." she said while giving an 'okay' with her hand before walking out of the small forest-like area.

* * *

They were well into the fall season by now. It was the first weekend of October. Things were definitely more tranquil. By now, her wound had already healed thanks to Recovery Girl's second treatment. She could freely angle her body in the weirdest ways possible without feeling like she was dying.

It was a rather laid-back day. No one was training on their own, they were having fun with the time they had.

"You're very good at drawing people." Jiro commented as she and Hagakure flipped her through her sketchbook. Mizuha, who had her legs pulled up on the chair, smiled behind her hands that rested above her knees. Sho was actually on the table rest in between the two girls. They were mindlessly petting his soft fur with one hand.

For the girls, Sho was now their saviour. A few days ago, when most of the girls were in the bath. Mizuha was in the living room talking with Byakuren while Kirishima and Kaminari were playing around with Sho who was left unattended. While no one was looking, Mineta had tried to sneak a peek in the girls' bath. It didn't end well for him. As if he sniffed out the sin of lust in the air, Sho ran up to Mineta and chomped on his hand, causing him to echo a rather girly scream.

"You draw anime guys in such an attractive way!" Hagakure gushed while petting Sho on her lap.

"Well," Mizuha looked to the side. "Making them 'attractive' wasn't actually what I aimed for…" she chuckled.

"Do think you can draw one of my favorite characters from an anime?! Please?" Hagakure suddenly asked.

"Which anime?"

"Cutie Ninja Shinobi!"

"Hm, sure, If I have time... I can't promise it'll be an exact replica though."

"Thank you, Mizuha!"

"Damn it!"

The three girls looked at the place where the shout came form.

In the living room part of the common room, Ojiro, Kirishima, Byakuren and Bakugo were playing a video gamea on the TV. They were using her console. And Bakugo was grumbling something.

"Hey! Don't break anything!" Mizuha yelled.

"I'm not stupid!"

The front doors opened, catching most of the common room floor's occupants. It was Uraraka and Yaoyorozu. Hagakure threw her arms in the air, "Finally!" she pushed her chair back and went over to greet the two girls.

"You didn't have to wait for us." Yaoyorozu smiled when Hagakure stopped in front of her. Uraraka immediately started coddling Sho that was brought along with Hagakure.

"What's going on?" Mizuha asked Jiro who was on her way to join them.

The short haired girl rubbed the back of her neck. "They wanted to come to my room to learn how to play some instruments."

"Oh."

"Do you want to come too?"

"I would but…" she pointed at the boys. "I'm worried about my stuff over there. You never know, Bakugo might just blow up my whole console out of pure frustration." she joked with a grin. "Maybe next time. You take Sho along with you though, I'm sure he'd be glad to stick around you girls. You're practically spoiling him anyway."

…

…

…

"I thought you said Kaminari was going to join us?" Byakuren asked the red haired boy while keeping his eyes glued on the screen. He wasn't losing focus in a virtual match against Bakugo. It might be the only place where he could actually kick the boy's ass. It took a lot to even make the angry boy play, it took a lot of teasing and challenging with Kirishima's help.

"Ahh, Sero convinced him to join the group inside Tokoyami's room."

Ojiro cocked his head to the side. "Aren't they telling scary stories in there?"

"Mhmm." Kirishima hummed.

"Anyone got any stories to tell?" Byakuren asked jokingly with a laugh.

Mizuha planted her hands on the backrest of the couch before jumping over it to sit on the cushions. "I got one. It's not so scary but it's something."

Byakuren laughed. "Alright. Shoot."

"Well, first… you know that there are some abandoned hotels that haven't been demolished yet, right? There's one in Kyushu that's still standing despite being abandoned for ten years."

"They don't have any plans for constructing a new building?" Ojiro wondered.

Mizuha shook her head. "My uncle told me that it was because they were afraid to. They were scared of a ghost getting its revenged for destroying its home. It all started with a man who needed to seek shelter for the night because it was raining hard. The man at the desk gave him the last room available which was somewhere on the fifth floor. But they told him not to use the door next to his, no one was allowed inside for any reason. He took the key and went up to his room and settled into his room. However, he was curious about the room next door."

Byakuren scoffed. "Was he a foreign white man? Because you know what they say… they always check out the danger in a horror movie and die."

"Shh, don't interrupt me. Anyway, the man figured it wouldn't hurt to just check the door. He wouldn't be going inside. It was fine. So, he left his room and went to check it out. He got down on one knee and peeked inside the room through the keyhole. Unfortunately, he couldn't see anything. All he saw was the color red. They probably put up a cover just in case people did _try_ to look inside. The next day, he was ready to leave the hotel, but he decided it wouldn't hurt to ask what was the deal with the room next to his. The receptionist was disappointed to find out that he tried to look inside. So she decided to tell him what happened."

"She said that: a year ago, there was a woman who died there. The reason why she died was because her baby died inside that room. She ended up crying so much that her eyes turned red."

There was a pause.

Ojiro let out a frightened gasp. "Ahh! That just sent a chill down my spine!"

"I just got it!" Kirishima covered his face and breathed in.

Bakugo, who had been paying attention to the story, froze momentarily, which cost him the game.

Byakuren turned around and gave Mizuha a grimace. "… he was staring right into her eye… ugh."

* * *

The same day at night, Mizuha left her room for to drink water in the common room. While going down with in the elevator, she realized how it was nice that even though she moved into the dorm, no one was going to tell her to get back to bed if she wanted to wander around the dorm. The teachers didn't stay with the students, they had their own dormitory. Still, she felt a little cautious and made sure she had a dimmer light on when she played games at night. She didn't want Aizawa to happen to come across the bright light coming from her balcony window and scold her the next day.

Mizuha had walked past the doors on her floor to check if anyone other than herself was crazy enough to be up at 2 AM doing anything that wasn't urgent. Everyone was sleeping.

She shut her eyes tightly and stretched her jaw when a heavy yawn came out of her mouth.

All of a sudden, she heard a muffled shriek echoing in the dorm.

She looked up. "… What the fu…"

* * *

"Mizuha!"

Byakuren was leaning against Mizuha's desk when Ashido suddenly called his friend's name. Mizuha looked past her friend's arm and gave Ashido a look.

"Did you hear a buzzing noise last night?"

Satou dropped his fist in his hand. "Good idea. Mizuha is such a night owl that it's possible she might have heard it too."

Mizuha shook her head. "Nah… I didn't hear anything like that last night." she answered. "BUT! I did hear someone scream like a little girl when I passed by the second floor on the way down."

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT! DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME!" Mineta screamed with a fearful look on his face.

Mizuha chuckled, "… Huh, so it _was_ you."

Byakuren snickered.

"H-Huh… if we're the only ones who heard it… maybe Tokoyami's tale really did curse us." Sero joked, hoping to lighten up the mood.

"C-Cut it out man!" Kaminari laughed pathetically while nudging the black haired boy with his elbow. The two looked at each other with weak smiles.

"What tale?" Kirishima piped up, interested.

"Well… how did it go again?" Kaminari scratched his head.

"Okay." Ashido spoke up, taking the role of the storyteller. "There was a village where they told Hundred Tales as a way to entertain themselves. They always stopped at the ninety-ninth tale because they were scared of summoning a ghost. Then, a blond haired lady came to the village because she heard about the Hundred Tales. She wanted to join. The villagers welcomed her into their storytelling but she never let out a cry of fright after listening to the stories."

"Then she started grinning. When they reached the ninety-ninth tale, the lady started telling a story while the village people fearfully asked her to stop. She didn't. Then, when she finished her story, the candle they had suddenly went out. When they relighted the candle, the lady was gone. She was nowhere to be found. She literally vanished! The village people figured she got whisked away by some spirits. One day, one of the people that was present during the storytelling claimed that he spotted her. The others thought he was nuts."

"But then they found his mangled corpse with a face that looked like he was seriously terrified!" Kaminari cut her off. "And they found a blond hair wrapped around the poor dude's neck!"

The two continued to tell the rest of the story while the rest of the class listened closely. No one said a word when they spoke.

Bakugo shot up from his desk and marched his way to the door before they even finished. "Quit it with your weird-ass stories when I'm within earshot!" he shouted before storming out of the classroom.

Mizuha tilted her head. _Is he scared of scary stories…?_

When the story was done, Jiro raised her hand. "Um, I heard it too." she admitted, her voice trembling. She was referring to the buzzing noise. "The strange buzzing… it kept up going until dawn."

Kaminari gasped. "There, see! It must have been real then!" he said. However, he wasn't sure he should be glad or terrified. He was hoping that he was just hearing things at night. But this was Jiro they were talking about, the expert of sound related things.

"Curse or no curse, the fact that several of you heard this odd noise is concerning indeed." Iida suddenly spoke, grabbing everyone's attention. "There may be something wrong with the dormitory itself, so we need to get to the bottom of this. As class president, I will take responsibility and solve this mystery!" he declared. This brought relief to most of the members of the scary-story group.

"Um, Iida… I think Mizuha would be better suited for lookout." Byakuren told him while having a hand on Mizuha's head. "It's like Satou said, she's the night owl."

"I agree, Mizuha would make a better choice. In fact, I'd feel better knowing she was doing it…" Kaminari muttered to himself.

Iida shook his head, adamant about changing his mind. "All the more reason why it should be me. Hyoumei-kun needs to sleep."

"You'll probably doze off." Byakuren pointed out.

"Even so, I will make sure that I stay awake. As class president, it is my job to make sure my peers sleep well and that there is no disturbance at night!"

"In that case, I will prepare some coffee to keep you awake."

"Thank you, Yaoyorozu!"

Mizuha and Byakuren looked at each other briefly before looking back at the others.

The girl scoffed. _How weak. I don't even need coffee to stay awake._

* * *

…

…

…

"A noise. Really?"

Aizawa looked at his students with an unconvinced face while not bothering to hide the doubt in the tone of this voice. His students arrived while looking gloomy, just like the weather outside the window. He got angry during the final homeroom because their lack of sleep was clearly evident. Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, Mizuha was the only one who looked alright.

"You can't possibly believe in something so irrational as the paranormal though." the teacher said, annoyed.

"W-We don't necessarily," Yaoyorozu said. "But after a series of inexplicable events, we can't help but be shaken…"

Last night, all their girls were huddled with their female friends that were found on the same floor. Ashido and Uraraka sought solace with Mizuha who was doing way better than them. They ended up sleeping in her room after deciding it was safer since she stayed up until they fell asleep. Mizuha _did_ hear the buzzing noise, but she put on her headphones as she slept so that she wouldn't hear it.

Iida shot his hand up as he stood. "Sensei! This is a real predicament! Some anomaly is afflicting our living quarters, and if this keeps up, I'm afraid it will affect our academic performance! I believe we ought to ascertain the cause and resolve the matter posthaste!"

As if the class wasn't already terrified, Aizawa suddenly remembered about the ghost of an alum who couldn't become a Hero. He said that it haunted it the campus, calling it one of the Seven Mysteries of U.A, which triggered chaos in the classroom.

"Holy crap, it's haunting our dorm now!"

"Ahh, I can't take this!"

"Alright, enough!" Aizawa's voice boomed over the students'. He sighed exasperatedly and put his thumb on the bridge of his nose. "If this disturbance is really such a problem, I'll drop by tonight to check it out. That's the rational approach, especially since it'll be storming tonight. So be sure to be in your rooms when I come around to do the roll call."

"Th-Thank you, Aizawa-sensei!"

They can always count on dad of Class 1-A.

Mizuha frowned. "… But that's how people die in horror movies."

* * *

...

...

...

Aizawa never showed up for roll call.

This prompted everyone to leave their rooms and search for him. After all, he said was coming by their dorm to check things out. They all decided to look for him while the storm outside only added fuel to their fears.

They weren't expecting to find him unconscious near the dinning table. They panicked but still had the initiative to carry their teacher to the sofa.

"Does… Does he have a blond hair?" Kaminari looked terrified. "OH SHIT! HE DOES! Ah… no wait. That's mine."

Bakugo whacked him over the head. "Don't freaking joke about that, dunce face!" he roared.

Mizuha gave Bakugo a look. "Are you scared?" she whispered to him, causing him to whip his head in her direction and glare at her, it made her jump a little. She rose her hands up in defense. "I'm observant. I saw you freeze up when I told—" he clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Shut up." he whispered harshly.

Mizuha's eyes squinted at him. She considered licking his hand to make him pull away.

"He got whammied by the curse!" Mineta cried while holding his head.

"It could've been a Villain attack. But they'd have to be a tough one to knock out Aizawa-sensei!" Ojiro said with a worried look on his face.

"Wouldn't the campus alarm go off then?" Byakuren wondered, "But… if we think about USJ…"

Everyone was freaking out.

"Calm yourselves, everyone!" Iida shouted in order to calm his peers, but his voice went unheard as they were all talking among themselves.

"Paranormal occurrences aside, we should alert the other teachers about what happened to Aizawa-sensei." Tsuyu spoke. This brought everyone back to their senses.

Iida nodded in agreement. "There should be landline to the Faculty Dorms—"

Lightning cracked and caused a loud boom outside the dorm, and in an instant, everything went dark.

"GAH!"

"Great… a blackout." Byakuren groaned.

"R-Restrain yourself, Dark Shadow!"

"Geez, Tokoyami! Don't release Dark Shadow in here!"

Mizuha tried to look around for any light that might be independent from the electricity. She wasn't even sure if there was a flashlight somewhere that was provided by the school. She didn't have her phone with her since she left her room after Byakuren answered her text about if whether or not Aizawa showed up for roll call on the fifth floor.

Humans were naturally afraid of the dark but Mizuha wasn't exactly worried. She couldn't say the same about her classmates though.

"Everyone! There's nothing to fear!" Iida shouted.

"Yaoyorozu?" Mizuha called.

"Mizuha-san?"

"Could you make a flashlight or something?"

"Yes, I was just about to— AHH!" Yaoyorozu let out a shriek.

"Yaomomo?" Jiro called nervously. "What happened?"

"S-Something is running about underfoot!"

"What do you mean 'something'…? Eek—! I felt it too!" That was Uraraka.

"I can't deal with this anymore!" Kaminari cried, he was on the verge of breaking down in tears right there and then. Everyone was letting out frightened sounds as whatever was around them darted all around.

"We need some light!" Iida commanded.

His voice triggered Kaminari and Bakugo to use their Quirks. They both illuminated the room for a quick moment. Everyone paused and looked around when there was a moment of silence.

Mizuha blinked. She saw a figure jump towards her before the room was in complete darkness once more.

Her heart rate jumped.

…

…

Mizuha let out a frightened yell. "WHOA! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" Mizuha shouted while quickly backing away from whatever the figure was. "AH HELL NO! WHAT THE HELL?! FUCK THAT SHIT!" she ran into somebody while running away.

"Oof—!"

"Kirishimaaa!" Mizuha whined. "Did you see that shit?! WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"Hyoumei-kun! Stop swearing so much! Calm down!"

"I-I have no idea!" Kirishima replied while holding on to her since she wouldn't stop fidgeting frantically. He was right behind her, so he saw the exact same thing.

"It was definitely a ghost! That's what ghosts look like, right?!" Kaminari shouted.

"We're all going to die!" Mineta screamed.

"M-Midoriya… Which is more effective against ghosts— ice or fire?" Todoroki asked somewhere near Mizuha, she could tell that he was also shaken up.

"Huh? I can't say I've ever thought about that, but we think of ghosts as being cold, right? So maybe fire would work? But honestly, I'm not sure physical attacks have any effects on spirits! Since, by definition, they don't have corporeal bodies."

"Then… what do we do?" Todoroki said.

"We burn the fucking dorm down!" Mizuha hissed.

The front door of their dormitory swung open with a loud _bang!_ , which caused everyone to look fearfully. There was a single figure standing in the doorway. They had long _blond_ hair, it was dripping wet from the rain. Slowly, they stepped into the building.

"Ugh… you kids…" they said before raising their head.

Everyone went on the offensive as they screamed. A plethora of Quirks shot towards the figure and drowned whatever sound they made. It wasn't until the onslaught was over that the lights returned and illuminated the common floor.

The figure was still there. They didn't disappear like how ghosts usually do. It was laying on unconscious on the floor. A few students crept towards the figure and examined it.

Ashido gasped, horrified. "It's Present Mic!"

"Oh, shit." Byakuren cringed.

Mizuha's eyes widened. She moved away from Kirishima and walked to the couch where Aizawa was lying. To her horror, he was waking up. There was not enough time to hide the evidence and play it cool. He saw her peering down at him, causing her to move away and stare at the others with a frown.

"What's going on?"

They all paled.

 _We're in trouble. I just know it._

* * *

…

…

Mizuha yawned into her hand as she slumped on her desk. She was tired. So tired. She stayed up late writing something for her teacher since he wasn't too happy after last night's events.

After he woke, he explained what he found out. Apparently, the buzzing was coming from a little device that was built by Hatsume. It was designed to scout at night due to most of the girls' complaints about having a pervert in their dorm. Hatsume, who was more than happy to make something, had left the device in their dorm which caused the buzzing sounds as it traveled in the halls. This obviously annoyed Mineta. As for why Aizawa was unconscious, he had tried reaching for the device that was stuck on the ceiling by standing on the table, but he slipped on a kitchen rag that Hagakure forgot when she was in a hurry to get to her room before roll call. The 'ghost' that ran around the common room was actually Koda's little rabbit Yuwai.

Once that was resolved, he sent everyone to bed. But not without saying a few more things. Scary stories were now forbidden in Class 1-A's dormitory. He also demanded apology essays from the whole class that were due the next day. And now, he wanted everyone to be in bed by eight for the next few days. He even looked at Mizuha to make his point, she was no exception.

The usual lively chatter was toned down a bit thanks to their sleep deprivation. It made the majority wonder how could Mizuha live like that nearly on a daily basis. They were already seated when Aizawa entered the classroom. He greeted them but not while preparing to get into his yellow sleeping bag.

"Um…" he started as he covered his head. "We're going to have a Cultural Festival."

There was a moment of silence. Then, as if they were not sleep deprived at all, the class exploded in excited cheers.

Mizuha jumped from the sudden noise.

* * *

 **Some light stuff before the next Arc. We got to see how Mizuha interacts with her classmates now that she took bigger strides out of her shell.**

 **The scary story part of this chapter came from the 3rd BNHA light novel. I read it after posting chapter 29 and I really wanted to put it into my story. If I got my information correct, then there is a month before the Cultural Festival preparations even begins, so I thought this was the perfect time to write it. You could find some translations of the novel somewhere online if you want to read it! Mizuha's scary story was actually a story that someone once told me. I searched it up out of curiosity while writing this and found out that the story was a rip off of Creepypasta haha.**

 **Okay. An update regarding ships. Oh my god. GEEZ, I am having trouble choosing one LMAO. I can't decide for some reason. But I've narrowed it down: Kirishima, Todoroki, Bakugo and Tamaki. (These were actually the ones I predicted would be possible since I never actually decided on a ship at first). Hopefully, I'll figure it out soon...** **(￢_￢;)**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are appreciated and I look forward to reading them!**


	31. Chapter 31: The Cultural Festival

**Hey, hello! This chapter is ALL about the Cultural Festival!**

 **Regarding my thoughts about putting this story on hold, I decided to do it. I want to let the manga advance more before I start implementing more of the plot I had in mind. Don't worry, I won't abandon this story, so hopefully you won't be too disappointed about my decision.**

 **As for how many chapters before I put it on hold, I'd say about one or two depending on the chapter lengths.**

 **Now, let's move on to the chapter.**

* * *

"Hmm, hmm, hmmm, hmmm, hm~"

A woman long dark brown hair and gray eyes hummed a song while going through the files on her desk. A smile was stretched on her face as she came across the paper she was looking for. With her fingers, she plucked it on of the file and kicked back against the floor, forcing her desk chair to roll back to her computer. She slapped the paper onto the table and began typing away at the computer with her constant humming. She didn't even bother looking up when she heard several knocks on her door.

"Come in." she said monotonously.

The door opened, revealing two people behind it. The first person to enter the office was a woman and the second one was a man. The guy shut the door behind him once they entered, the woman walked up to the desk of the working woman and dropped vial on her desk. It was filled with red liquid.

"We successfully recuperated the blood from the raid, like you asked us to."

"Did anyone see you?"

"Nah," the guy replied as he walked closer. "It was easy to do it with my Quirk."

The brunette nodded, satisfied.

"By the way, did you get a good answer from him?" the woman asked the brunette.

"Yeah. My hunch was right." she gave them a thumbs up. "He really couldn't help it."

She looked away from her screen and retracted her hands away from her keyboard. She eyed the vial on her desk for a moment before holding it up to the light, wondering about what she was holding in her hand. Would this blood sample bring her closer to the goal she sought to achieve? Or was it a dead end?

"Tatsuki, Yuusei. Thank you."

Yuusei titled his head. "Shall we go get the things for the analysis?" he asked Tatsuki.

The brown haired lady smiled. "Yes. I'm eager to get an answer for those two." she answered for Tatsuki.

Tatsuki smiled back. "Okay."

The two newcomers left the vial with the computer woman and left quietly, leaving the woman to mutter to herself. "I just need to find the last pillar if things go right."

She set the bottled blood back safely on her desk before moving back to the computer.

"Who could it be~?"

The tapping of computer keys echoed in the quiet office once more. On top of her desk lied a professional triangular sign with a name engraved on it.

 _Shinketsu Kizuko_ (震獗 冀健)

* * *

After a failed attempt to try and come up with a plan for the Cultural Festival, Aizawa gave them the rest of the day to come up with an idea. If they failed to come up with something by the next day then a public lecture would be held for Class 1-A during the day of the festival. A threat the class knew they shouldn't take lightly. The decision would be left with those who weren't involved in the supplementary lessons. Fortunately for Mizuha, that was perfect. She didn't really have anything to contribute to the class, nothing came to mind during the whole class. One idea came up but she was sure it wasn't good enough for something the whole class could enjoy. It was quickly brushed aside. So, she chose to sit there wait for the class to come up with something. Hopefully, they came up with something by the time they finished their lessons.

She was sitting next to Kirishima when Aizawa suddenly said something that caught her full attention.

"Eri wants to see Midoriya and Mizuha?"

Aizawa nodded, "Yes. Strictly speaking, she's concerned about Midoriya, Togata and Hyoumei. Apparently, it's her first request since being admitted to the hospital."

Mizuha scratched her cheek. "Why would she want to see me? Togata and Midoriya were the ones who most likely left an impression on her."

Aizawa gave her a look. "You don't give yourself enough credit. It doesn't take much to have an impact on a child. Besides, you were there to protect her, were you not?"

"I mean… yeah."

 _She probably remembered that I literally had a frigging hole in my body._

* * *

Mizuha yawned while she entered her room and shut the door behind her. She finished her nightly shower, she felt refreshed and ready for bed. Her body would still function until two in the morning, but the supplementary lessons took longer than she thought. She felt drained.

She was greeted by Sho letting out a bark, causing her to shush him with a finger to her lips. The white dog seemed quite pleased when his owner started stroking his head. She smiled a little.

 _He's so cute._

Then she let out another yawn.

Sho did as well.

Mizuha let out a giggle at that. "Are you also tired, Sho?" she asked softly while still stroking. As if answering her question, he started nuzzling his nose against her palm. Her expression softened, she made up her mind.

She got up and turned off the light. While carrying Sho, she opened her bed and got in with him. She instantly snuggled up to Sho and then fell asleep.

* * *

Mizuha saw the car that Present Mic was going to drive. He was more than happy to drive them to the hospital when his friend asked him to. He wasn't too busy with school related matters anyway. As soon as Aizawa started getting into the passenger seat in the front, Togata was already on his way in. Midoriya looked at Mizuha and smiled, gesturing for her to get in next. Mizuha wasn't exactly blessed with what she liked to call 'stick-leg genes'. Thankfully, it didn't look like they were going to be squished together, especially with Togata's built.

Togata had a basket of fruits sitting on his lap during the ride. It was for Eri.

While the two interns from Nighteye's began chatting together, Mizuha actually dozed off and dropped her head on Togata's shoulder without meaning to. She just got bored of watching the scenery outside the window. Plus, she made it a point to not take out her phone from her pocket (unless she needed to check something) until she saw Eri.

…

…

…

"Sorry we couldn't come and see you sooner." Midoriya apologized with a smile.

Mizuha waved her hand.

"Here's a fruit basket!" Togata exclaimed. He held up for Eri to see. "Eat some if you'd like!"

Mizuha looked around the room and found four stools sitting in the corner. She went to get three by holding holding two and nudging the third with her foot. Midoriya saw this and quickly went to help her. She went ahead and sat right in the middle of the two boys, right in front of Eri.

As soon as they were seated, Togata gave her the basket of fruits. "Is there a fruit you like? Can I try guessing? It's peaches, right? 'Cause you're like a peach!"

Eri eyed the fruits in the basket. "Apples."

"Just like I thought!"

Mizuha glanced at the third year and let out a small chuckle. Togata took out the small knife he brought along with him and started cutting them into bunny shaped slices. Mizuha actually got caught up in his work, she never actually saw someone cut them into those cute shapes. Her mother usually gave her normal slices whenever she gave her some to eat.

It was only after eating a couple of slices that Eri started talking.

"This whole time, even when I had a fever, I was thinking… about when you rescued me. But I didn't know your name."

Mizuha blinked and tilted her head. Who was she talking to?

She turned to Midoriya. "I only knew Lemillion-san and Celsius-san. I wanted to know your name."

"I'm Midoriya Izuku. My hero name is Deku! Um, maybe since Deku is shorter, it's easier to remember… so yeah… Just call me Deku!"

"Hero name…?"

"It's like a nickname."

"Deku-san."

Midoriya nodded, "That's right!"

She slowly looked to the far left where Togata sat. "Lemillion-san," she looked at Mizuha. "Celsius-san," then she turned to Midoriya again. "Deku-san. And…" she lowered her gaze. "And... that man with the glasses."

The three stiffened.

"Everyone… were badly injured because of me. Because of me, you all suffered… I'm sorry."

Guilt. It was written all over her face. She was hanging onto that guilt. Mizuha was familiar with the feeling. She knew knew that Eri needed to let it go because it wasn't her fault. The older girl frowned when she saw Eri tear up a little.

"It… It was my fault that you lost your power, Lemillion…"

Before she could say anymore, Togata placed a gentle hand on her head as he smiled. Surprised, Eri looked up at the third year.

"Eri-chan. No one thought they were suffering. This is what we all think: 'I'm glad Eri is okay!'. There's no point in apologizing to someone who doesn't exist. Don't worry about it. Everyone fought because they wanted to see your smile!"

He sat back down and continued smiling. There was moment of silence. The little girl started stretching her mouth, causing the three to look at each other. Then she started stretching her cheeks.

"… What's wrong?" Mizuha finally asked, speaking up for the first time.

Eri lowered her hands and looked at the bedsheet. "I'm sorry… How do you smile again?"

 _Ah…_

Mizuha breathed out through her nose quietly before leaning forward to drum her fingers on the bed to get Eri's attention. The little girl looked at the older one.

"Don't worry about it. You don't need to force yourself to smile. It'll come naturally."

"… Do you really think so?"

Mizuha nodded. "I don't really smile a lot. I bet I haven't even smiled once since I came in here. I guess you could say I have trouble smiling. But sometimes, it just comes out without me knowing."

 _If I think about what makes me smile, then it should be something that makes me happy. I'm sure that applies to everyone. But what could make her super happy right now?_

Midoriya suddenly shot up from his seat, startling Mizuha. Everyone watched as he went to Aizawa who was just leaning against the door, watching them. "Aizawa-sensei! Could Eri leave the hospital for just one day?"

"It's not impossible, but anyway, she's going to be transferred to—"

"Then, can Eri come too? To the Cultural Festival! Can Eri come, too?"

Mizuha gasped. "Right…"

"Cultural Festival?" she inquired.

Togata whipped around in his seat to face Eri. "Eri-chan! This is a great idea! There's this thing called a 'Cultural Festival'! It's a festival put on by our school! The student set up events and foods for other students to enjoy! And apples! They'll probably even have candy apples!"

"Candy apples?" Eri repeated, curious.

Mizuha put a hand under her chin. "Aren't those the apples on a stick that taste very sweet? Like candy-sweet?"

Togata nodded. "Yeah! That one! Sweeter apples!"

"Sweeter…" Eri whispered. She started salivating to the point where her saliva started dribbling down her chin. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and wiped her mouth, making Mizuha grin at the futile attempt.

"All right." Aizawa said after pulling out his phone. "Let's talk it over with the principal."

Midoriya went over to Eri. "Eri-chan, what do you think?" he asked with a grin.

"I thought… About the people who saved me… when I was saved… I thought about how I wanted to know more about everyone!"

"I'll tell you more than you want to know!" Togata said cheerfully. Then he looked at the two first years. "Let's work on the principal, too, to get him to say 'yes'!"

Midoriya nodded. "Okay!"

Mizuha frowned, "How? With cheese?"

"If that doesn't work then that's okay. We can still find other ways to convince the principal!" Togata reassured with pure optimism.

 _Wait… you actually considered it?! Man, he's really down to get Eri out of here for the Cultural Festival._

"I'm on a break from school right now, so I can stay with you the whole time on our date!" Togata said cheerfully.

Eri blinked and cocked her head to the side, "Date?"

Midoriya and Mizuha slowly looked at Togata.

"An outing taken by a man and a woman who are intimate!"

"An outing taken by a man and a woman…"

Mizuha deadpanned, "What the fuc—" Togata and Midoriya's eyes widened and they immediately pressed their hands on her mouth. She literally had four hands on her face. Through small gaps between their fingers, she gave them apologetic looks with her eyes.

Eri looked at her in confusion, wondering what she was going to say.

Midoriya and Togata looked at her in disbelief, shaking their heads. Mizuha muffled an apology before taking their hands off of her face with a sheepish look.

She needed put a tight lid on her inappropriate vocabulary for a while.

* * *

Uraraka shivered, "Aren't you cold, Mizuha?"

"That's a funny question." Kirishima mused, making the platinum blonde haired girl laugh next to him.

"It's just a little cold tonight!" Uraraka defended before pointing at Mizuha's top clothes. "And she's wearing the sleeveless jacket. So, I thought it she might be cold!"

"It's fall now." Midoriya said in agreement.

Mizuha tugged her long white sleeve, "I still have the long sleeves."

"It's not that much of a walk from the school to the dormitory." Tsuyu pointed out with a finger on her face.

Kirishima grinned, "Mizuha uses ice. And she _is_ cold."

Mizuha snickered.

When they arrived inside the dorm, they found their classmates in the common room, most likely discussing about the Cultural Festival. They quickly joined them and got caught up with the others. They were glad to be finally done and caught up with their extra lessons. They were ready and eager to help their class.

They decided on doing a type of concert that involved dancing and stage effects. Jiro was on the bass, Yaoyorozu on the keyboard and Bakugo on the drums. Now, they needed to know who was going to sing.

"You're not going to sing, Jiro?" wondered Uraraka.

This made the music loving student jump. "Huh?! Oh no, we still haven't—"

"If it's vocals you want, I can do it! It'll make me popular!" Mineta exclaimed.

"I can be a disco ball and sing!" Aoyama proposed.

"Yeah! I can't play instruments, But I'm a pretty good singer!" Kirishima exclaimed confidently. He grabbed the mic from the stand. "CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP, YOU BASTARDS TOOK IT AWAY~!"

Mizuha and Byakuren cocked their heads to the side.

Suddenly, Mineta started screeching into the mic. Next thing he knew, he was slumped on the floor. Byakuren put down the mic stand while Mizuha sighed with the mic in her hand.

"Trying to make us go deaf?" she muttered before putting the microphone back where it was supposed to be.

"Can you sing, Mizuha?" Byakuren wondered. "Maybe I'm just imagining it but I think you said something about singing once…?"

The girl shook her head. "First of all, I'm not doing it. Second, I can't. I used to sing as a child for fun but I lost that ability years ago. Now, I probably sound like a dying whale."

Byakuren laughed.

Sometimes, when she was alone, she would start singing in the house. She wholeheartedly believed that she sang like something that just died. So, whenever she heard the slightest noise in her house, her mouth would seal shut. At the dorm, she had to constantly remind herself not to get into the habit of singing to herself. Thankfully, she wasn't foolish enough to forget that she had neighbours on the other side of her walls.

"I'm with Ochaco-chan!" Hagakure told Jiro. "I think it should be you, Jiro!"

Before she could even protest, Hagakure grabbed the mic stand and gave it to her. Jiro looked unsure for a moment, but the everyone around her watched in anticipation. It was so hard to refuse when everyone was asking for the same thing. Jiro sighed before stepping in front of it. She took in a deep breath. Then she sang a few lyrics of song she knew by heart.

"Amazing!"

"My ears are so happy!"

"What a husky, sexy voice!"

"Right? RIGHT?!"

"All right!" Iida exclaimed. "It's unanimous, then!"

"Okay then, that's that…" Jiro said while blushing. "Now, we still need guitarists! I want two!"

Tokoyami and Kaminari took on the role.

"Now for the Stage Team!" Iida announced.

Mizuha rubbed her eyes after she yawned. It was getting pretty late and it was nearly eight. They still needed to respect Aizawa's curfew if they wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible. Mizuha didn't even notice that it became silent around her until a few seconds had passed. She lowered her hand and looked around. Everyone was staring at her.

Mizuha looked at them weirdly. "What?"

"You should totally be in the Stage Team!" Ashido exclaimed. "You just have to be in it!"

"She's the artsy one so she should be super creative with the stage effects!" Hagakure piped up next to her.

"I'll be in the Stage Team." Byakuren said with his hand up. "I've done some behind the scenes work in middle school."

Iida nodded, "That's great!"

"In that case, I'll do effects too!" Kirishima volunteered cheerfully.

Koda also raised his hand to volunteer.

"I'm more suited for effects." Todoroki said quietly.

"I will be the disco ball!" Aoyama declared.

"I wanna use my tape!" said Sero.

The current members of the Stage Team looked at Mizuha who shrugged with her hands in her jacket pockets. "Sure. I don't mind."

"Don't give us any half-assed effects!" Bakugo warned her while pointing his drumstick in her direction. Her lazy attitude was no secret after all.

She stuck her tongue out.

* * *

It was 10 PM.

Everyone was asleep.

Except for the night owl of Class 1-A.

She was sitting on her bed tapping away at her laptop while a small light kept the room dim. Her thoughts after being put into the Stage Team was: how could she contribute to the performance? Everyone seemed to determined to get their concert to work the way they imagined it to be.

 _The concert needed to take place in one of the gyms on campus, especially if Aoyama wants to be a disco ball._

She went to U.A.'s school website and immediately checked out the virtual campus. She couldn't just run out in the middle of the night. Someone was bound to find her, especially Hound Dog.

Her screen currently had two notes open. One for the ideas she heard back when everyone was throwing ideas and another for the list of possible locations.

Her hand went under her chin.

 _Everyone in the gym should be enjoying the show. Our class and the audience. It should also be something that would be worth a person's time._

Mizuha's head shot up when she heard noise, thinking it was Aizawa walking in the hallway, she closed the lid of her laptop and tucked in under her bed. She was about to dive under her comforter until she saw Sho walking into her view.

Her right eye twitched.

She didn't want to try her luck any further.

Sleep seemed like a good idea now.

* * *

The Stage Team was in the common room at a table. Papers and computers were open and ready for note taking. Mizuha was sitting near Kirishima and Sero at the end of the table directly in front of the white haired boy. Her dog was sitting at her feet as she listened to what the others were saying.

"Perhaps we could move Aoyama around instead of keeping him in one place?" Koda suggested out of the blue as he looked at his notes. "It would be nice since he could shoot his lasers from different parts of his body now. We could spread him across the whole area."

Sero dropped his hand in his fist. "I see, that's a great idea! Let's talk to the dance team about it!"

Kirishima leaned back and put his hands behind his head. "Ahh, but that means we don't have enough people. We need someone to move him around now."

Byakuren looked at the windows that allowed him to take a peek at the Dance Team outside. "… We need manpower for that."

"Then, Midoriya should do it." Todoroki proposed.

Koda nodded in agreement.

Mizuha lightly tilted her head to the side and closed her eyes. The new proposition for Aoyama seemed to fit well with idea she came up with last night. She thought about it while trying to sleep. She thought it would be nice to have bubbles of water floating around the gym. They would reflect the light as they float, creating a beautiful effect. She would know because she once tried it in her room when she had a color changing night light.

While the boys continued discussing, Kirishima realized that Mizuha still hadn't said a word during the whole meeting. When he looked at her, he found her thinking to herself. Her finger was taping against the table softly so it wouldn't make too much noise. The red head put a hand on her arm and shook her out of her thoughts gently.

"What are you thinking about? Got any ideas?" He asked with a smile. He was welcoming any ideas, especially if they were being considered by the creative student of the class. Mizuha stared at him, she bit the inside of her lip as she hesitated to talk.

"Um…"

"Don't be shy, go ahead. We could use some ideas." Sero encouraged with a grin.

The girl slightly puffed out her right cheek, unsure. But one of her hands, hidden from the others' view, loosened and she relaxed. She saw no point in shying away if she wanted to contribute. So she told them her idea. She even gave them a demonstration by floating water bubbles and lighting them up by using her phone's flashlight. While she did, she glanced at the boys and was glad to see how impressed when they saw something so simple become pretty. Kirishima was the first to exclaim that it was a good idea followed by the rest of the members of the team. She saw how Koda was nodding his head in agreement, he seemed thrilled by the idea too.

"We should reserve the gym we want before other classes do." Todoroki suddenly said when looking over the notes.

Byakuren nodded. "I'll run over to the Teachers' Office once we've decided."

Kirishima got up from his seat. "I'll go tell the Dance Team what we decided."

"I'll go with you. I wanna walk a bit." Mizuha said while stretching her arms back before getting up.

On their way to the front door, Kirishima kept commenting on her water idea, especially when he realized that it could reflect on the people below. When they opened the doors, they found Togata and Eri standing with the group they were looking for. The boy was the first to race down the stairs to join them.

"Eri-chan! Hey there! Wait, you don't know who I am, huh?"

When Mizuha saw Togata wave her over, she started jogging towards the group with Sho tailing after her. However, her dog started running past her when he noticed Togata from afar. Mineta was knocked over when the dog bulldozered his way there. He skidded to a stop in front of the third year and started barking happily. Mizuha, who was afraid that Sho might scare Eri, started bolting after him. She knocked Mineta away when he stood back up and got in her path.

Iida gaped. "Hyoumei-kun!"

"Hey, Sho!" Togata gushed before crouching down and petting the dog. He felt a tug on his shirt, causing him to look at the shy little girl. She seemed a little uneasy about the dog.

"Aw, don't worry Eri. This is Sho, he's a good boy." he assured her. "Try petting him, he's super soft."

Kirishima grinned. "Yeah, he won't bite!"

Mizuha hovered her hands since she didn't know what to do. Her dog was behaving so she didn't have to pull him away. The little girl didn't seem too frightened either. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Eri reaching her small hand towards the dog. She gently and cautiously landed it on the dog's head who was almost the same size as her if not smaller. When she sensed that the dog was calm, she started petting him a little.

Sho's tail started swishing back and forth.

Togata grinned. "He's soft, right?"

Eri nodded. "Yeah."

Togata looked at the girl in front of him and smiled. "We're going to walk around with Eri to let her get used things here." he told her while pointing at Midoriya who was running back to the dorm to change into his uniform.

Mizuha nodded. "Oh, that's a good idea."

"Are you coming too?" Eri suddenly asked.

Mizuha looked at her. "Hm?" she hummed and her eyebrows rose a bit.

"Do you want her to come?" Togata asked Eri curiously.

"If it's okay…"

Mizuha felt a surprised. It was obvious that Midoriya and Togata were much better companions since they were positive influences. Mizuha wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine. If she had to measure herself, she would situate herself in the center but a little towards Amajiki while Togata stood at the other side. Perhaps it was really because she had an impact on the child despite not doing as much as the two boys.

Mizuha shrugged and put her hands in her sweater pockets. "I don't mind." she said with a little forced quick smile. She turned to Kirishima and gave him a sheepish look.

"Naw, it's fine. Go ahead." he quickly said before she could even say something. "We'll fill you in on the stuff you missed."

At that, the girl then ran back inside the dorm and went to her room to go change into her uniform.

* * *

They first went inside the school to check out how things were going for those preparing things indoors before checking outside. There were many in hallways, some were in the process of being made while some were simply out to set them aside. Eri was walking while holding on Togata's jacket, looking around curiously. For some reason, she also felt at ease having Sho walk in front of her as a little bodyguard. The idea of having a soft animal bouncing around was appealing for Eri.

"Oh, it's Togata!"

They stopped when two third years from the Business Course approached them. The one holding box suddenly gasped when his eyes landed on Eri, causing the girl to move backward a bit.

"What?! A kid?! Don't tell me this is why you're on temporary leave from school…?!"

Mizuha watched as Togata only smiled in an enigmatic manner, leaving the student in a small panic. The student with lighter brown hair came up to her and handed her a flyer with a smile.

"You should come check out Class I's stuff during the festival!"

"Oh, uh, thanks." Mizuha said quietly before taking it out of his hand. She took a look and immediately saw a picture of Takoyaki. It seems like they were having a stand somewhere during the festival.

"Here, you guys too!" the Business Course student said while handing out two more Togata and Midoriya.

"I'll definitely go!" Togata said cheerfully, already excited.

"This is a really nice flyer…"

They walked around a little more before deciding to take their little tour outside. By the time they did, they had three different flyers that were folded and tucked away in their pockets. It was much livelier outside considering how there was much more construction going on.

"Can you hand me those nails?"

"Hand on! Don't put a poster up there!"

"Careful now!"

"A little help over here."

Midoriya looked around in amazement. "There's still a whole month to go, but everyone's really busy!"

"Everyone's trying to do something cooler than last year." Togata explained. "They're trying to make it 'Plus Ultra!'"

All of a sudden, they were met with a dragon's face, mouth open and baring its teeth at them. This made the little group gasp in shock before moving back a few steps. Sho immediately started barking at the dragon.

"Oh, sorry!" Tetsutetsu said quickly when he saw them. He was holding the dragon with a classmate. "Oh, it's the rude girl from Class A! And Midoriya too!"

Mizuha sighed. "You're still calling me that?"

"My bad, force of habit."

Monoma stepped out from behind the prop and started his usual routine. Mizuha quickly looked at Eri and crouched down. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I thought it was the big lady that fell from the sky…"

Mizuha tilted her head. "Big lady?" she repeated.

Midoriya dropped his hand in his fist in realization. "Oh, you mean Ryukyu."

"Ah."

"Oh, are you ignoring me? You sure that's okay?"

With a sigh, Mizuha put her hands on her knees and pushed herself up. She grabbed her dog's attention by snapping her fingers, and then pointed at a stick that was lying somewhere close by.

"I heard Class A is doing a concert or something. You okay with that? This time, to put it bluntly, Class B's performance is going to be much more amazing than yours!"

Sho came back with the stick in his mouth. Mizuha patted his head before taking it out of his mouth. Then she saw Awase holding up his hand, silently asking her to pass it to him.

"It's called 'Romeo and Juliet and the Prisoner of Azkaban: The Return of the King'. It's a completely original script written by us, a super spectacular fantasy play!"

Mizuha watched as Sho delivered Awase the stick without Monoma noticing since he was to wrapped up in his talking. Midoriya quickly turned Eri away from Monoma and covered her eyes.

"You should probably go prepare a handkerchief to wipe your tears when you're blown away by us, that is! HAHAHAHA—"

Awase swung to stick behind Monoma's head, successfully knocking him out. The blond just ended folded up the ground.

Mizuha laughed before calling over Sho. "Good boy!" she cooed before ruffling him with affection. Eri turned around after Midoriya lowered his hand.

Awase dropped the stick and went over to his fallen classmate. "Sorry Class A. Kendo isn't around, so there's no one to stop him."

Midoriya turned his head to try and see if Kendo was nearby. "She's never far from Monoma, though…"

"Not today, She's going to be in the Beauty Pageant."

"Beauty Pageant?" both Midoriya and Mizuha repeated together. This was the first time they were hearing about it.

Awase started carrying away Monoma. "Yeah, she was entered against her will."

Midoriya and Mizuha looked at each other. They both seriously had no idea that the school was school a Beauty Pageant. Their teacher never said anything about it.

"Speaking of Beauty Pageant, _she's_ also really into it this year." Togata suddenly said, gaining the first years' attention.

* * *

Togata brought them over to the equipment room. The first thing that caught their attention was Hado. She was floating in the air thanks to her Quirk. The posture she had, it seemed like she posing for something, a camera. As soon as they fully entered the room, the blue haired girl looked surprised. Amajiki looked confused when she wandered away from the camera.

"Ne, ne, why is Eri-chan here?" she asked excitedly before floating downward to approach them. "It's so stage! Why? Why?"

Midoriya looked away from Hado with haste. "Your Quirk is flashy, and with your looks and b-b-" Mizuha raised an eyebrow. "—bo-bo-"

"Body proportions." Togata finished the word for him.

"Even with all that, you were still only the runner-up?!"

"Yeah, listen to this! Are you listening? Every year, I keep losing! There's this other girl who's amazing! The Beauty Pageant champion— Kenranzaki Bibimi from the Support Class 3-G!"

The bubbly third year went on and explained who exactly this champion usually presented herself in order to win the contest. It seemed like Kenranzaki was an expert in displaying flashiness. Mizuha frowned a little. She really wasn't the type to prefer flashy stuff. She liked seeing little details that made things extraordinary. Flashy was good, but having less could be even better.

"This year's pageant," Amajiki suddenly spoke up as he approached the group a little. "also includes Kendo, who gained a lot of secret fans from being in a commercial. Hado is also going all out. Just thinking about performing… in front of so many people…" Amajiki dropped on his knees and wrapped his arms around his stomach as he started trembling. "Ugh… feeling nauseous."

Mizuha went over to Amajiki since her dog started jumping around him. The anxious boy at least made the effort to pet Sho before returning his arm around him. Mizuha picked up her dog while she rested on her knees. Curiously, she peered at Amajiki's face.

 _Oh, he looks like he's going to pass out just at the thought of it_.

"But you're not the one on stage…"

Amajiki only lowered his head further. "The more I think about Hado on stage… I can literally feel myself up there. It's horrible just thinking about it… Ow…"

She thought it was ridiculous that simply imagining the stage fright was enough to send Amajiki into a spiral of anxiety. However, the sudden itchy sensation on her arms said otherwise.

After paying a visit to the equipment room, they went on to the Development Studio. That visit was cut short since one of Hatsume's inventions began exploding out of no where. Clearly, they needed to get Eri the heck out of there before something worse happened. They brought here to other places but there wasn't much going on so ended up stopping at the cafeteria once they got close. Figuring she wanted something drink after walking, Mizuha went to fetch her some apple juice. She didn't know where to look but thankfully Togata knew where drinks were being held. Once she had the drink, she dropped in a straw that she found.

Mizuha pulled out the chair in front of Togata and slid the drink in front of Eri. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Eri mumbled before quietly sipping.

Midoriya smiled. "Are you used to it…? I mean, how was it?" Midoriya asked the little girl.

The girl didn't reply immediately. She just sipped a bit more before lower the straw away from her mouth. "I don't know… but… there are a lot of different people working hard, so I wonder how it'll turn out…"

Mizuha saw Midoriya and Togata exchange wide smiles, this made her laugh a little.

She didn't even notice the Principal and Midnight sitting in the cafeteria until they spoke up. The latter explained to them that the Principal worked hard to make sure the Cultural Festival was still green lit. There was a catch though, no one from outside the school (except those who got permission like Eri) could enter U.A. because security would be even tighter. If the school alarm were to go off, the festival would be cancelled immediately.

Midnight gathered up her tray. "Oh, yeah, Class A's performance is causing a stir in the faculty lounge, too! Do your best at living your youth!"

"Yeah!"

"Mhm."

"Deku-san and Celsius-san, what are you doing?"

"We're performing a dance with music!" Midoriya replied enthusiastically. "I'll be dancing! I'll do my best to make it fun for you, so make sure you come watch!"

Mizuha suddenly remembered what her team decided to do for the performance. She wanted to tell him that they needed him for stage effects, but seeing Eri's eyes lit up with childish glee made it hard to bring it up. She would probably bring her down.

Eri looked at her with her curious red eyes. "Are you going to be dancing too?"

Mizuha snapped out of her thoughts. She then chuckled to herself. "No, I won't be on stage at all. Sorry."

"…Oh."

"You must be working behind the scenes then, huh?" Togata guessed, making Mizuha nod. Eri wouldn't be able to see Mizuha at all during their performance. Perhaps that was a little disappointing.

Sho, who was resting on her lap, yawned, causing his head to be visible to the little girl. Eri's were instantly attracted to the little animal on her lap. Mizuha took notice of this.

…

…

Mizuha suddenly had an idea. She held up Sho in her hands and brought him closer to the little girl. "Do you like Sho?" she asked with a grin on her face.

Eri got a little startled from the sudden closeness. But she nodded her head clearly before reaching out to touch his tail.

"Then that's all I need to know." Mizuha said before settling Sho back on her lap. "I'll make sure you enjoy the show. You'll be able to smile that natural smile. I promise. So, look forward to it, okay?"

Her words made the little girl's eyes sparkle. "I-I will…"

 _A show that entertains everyone, the performers and the audience. I'll make sure it happens._

* * *

When realizing that Midoriya's break was over, Mizuha also took that as her cue to leave and head back. She didn't want to miss out on much, especially now that she had her heart committed to preparing the show. Unfortunately, her group had already wrapped up the meeting. She felt a little bad about it. Aside from the Band Team, no one was in the common room. She didn't bother their practice, so she slipped away quietly. She decided to go ask Kirishima what happened after changing out of her school uniform.

When she arrived on the fourth floor, she was met with the sight of Todoroki opening her door and taking one step into her room.

With a confused expression on her face, she quietly followed after him. "Snooping around?" she teased.

This made the boy freeze in his tracks. He stepped out and saw her catching up to him. He stepped back out and apologized for entering her room without her permission. Apparently, Byakuren was the one who gave him the permission to enter, saying that Mizuha wouldn't mind him going in to drop the papers on her desk. The white haired boy couldn't exactly do it since he ran off to the Teacher's Office to submit their reservation. Todoroki agreed since it was better than slipping the papers underneath her door.

"It's okay." Mizuha said with a grin. She saw the papers in his hand. They were probably a copy of some notes that they took during her absence. Todoroki handed her the papers and stayed a little just to make sure she understood the notes completely.

The new ideas that were discussed were quickly getting registered into her brain. All the things they need that were necessary for the performances. They all had written down what they thought as their first brain storm. And each item on the last was already being associated with a new idea in her head to improve it.

"These are good ideas. None should actually be thrown away if we use them in different ways than what you guys originally thought." she said before looking up at him.

Even if her face didn't show it, he could see the excitement shinning in her eyes.

"You had some good ideas too." he said, referring to the paper she brought with her and left behind when she left with Midoriya. "Many ideas." he remarked with a smalls smile.

"… Well, I want to have a good contribution for our class performance." she said while looking away from him, focusing on her doorknob behind him. "It's the first time that I'm actually helping out for a Cultural Festival. I never did back in middle school." she admitted while watching Sho enter her room. "I want to make something worth it."

Todoroki nodded in agreement. "I do, too." he said with a soft smile. "I never really enjoyed Cultural Festivals back in middle school because I was too narrow minded back then." he also admitted.

This festival was a first for them. It would be something that they would enjoy and share with others around them. And they were very much looking forward to the result even if their excitement wasn't as obvious as their classmates.

Mizuha blinked. Her eyes had spotted something on his hair. She pointed at his head, "You got something on your hair… something white." she muttered the last part while narrowing her eyes.

He frowned. "Here?" He asked while brushing the white side of his hair. His eyes looked at her face for confirmation while keeping his hand hovered above his head.

"You were completely off." she laughed. Her hand gently moved away his before carefully aiming her flick. The top of her index finger stayed planted on her thumb for a moment, then she flicked the unknown entity off his head. "There we go." she pulled her hand away and started looking around if she could see where it went.

Unbeknownst to them, a certain pink haired girl was peeking in on them from her door. She had stayed to observe when she was on her way back down to rejoin her assigned team.

"Thank you." Todoroki said softly with a smile. He brushed left side of his hair just in case she flicked a hair and left it standing.

Mizuha laughed. "Don't worry about it. And no need to pay me," she gently knocked her fist against his stomach. "My cleaning services come free of charge." she joked with a silly grin. He simply chuckled at her little joke.

Ashido looked away from the scene and jumped on her floor. Her hands flew up to her mouth excitedly. "I just—oh! Could this be a new ship?! Maybe…! Wait, I shouldn't jump to conclusions when it's Mizuha though."

* * *

…

…

…

School had already ended. Many students were still in the building working on their own projects since the festival was slowly approaching. Kirishima and Mizuha were getting ready to leave school. They had lagged behind since a teacher was asking for some help. Thankfully, it didn't take too long.

Like a good friend, Mizuha waited for Kirishima to finish gathering his things while going through her phone. She heard him mumble an 'oops' followed by the sound of something falling on the ground. The girl moved her phone away from her sight and found his wallet near her foot. His student ID card had slipped out due to the fall. She got down and set her phone on the floor before picking up the fallen items.

"Ah, thanks."

"No probl…em."

Mizuha gave him his wallet but her eyes were glued on his card.

 _Month 10. Day 16._

 _Hm?_

 _Wait…_

Immediately, Mizuha snatched her phone off the ground and checked the date to make sure.

 _3:58 PM_

 _October 16._

 _It's today?!_

"Um… Mizuha, what's—"

Mizuha showed him his card with a surprised look on her face. "It's your birthday!" she exclaimed.

Kirishima blinked. He wasn't expecting her to react like this over his birthday. She seemed a more disappointed in the tone of her voice compared to the surprise on her face. He smiled at her and took his card back, tucking it back where it belonged. "Yeah. What, I never told you when it was?"

Mizuha shook her head rapidly.

"Sorry." he grinned while rubbing the back of his head. He shut his shoe locker. "It's my birthday today." He pointed out the now obvious fact.

Mizuha pulled out her wallet from her bag and started taking out some change. "You want a drink?! I'll get you a soda! Where's the closest vending machine… Come on! You said you were thirsty earlier!" she said before running off to find a vending machine. Kirishima had his mouth open with a hand stretched out, he stilled while watching her disappear around a corner. He wasn't expecting her to get all excited over his birthday. A second later, he quickly bolted after her with a happy grin on his face.

After catching her in his sights, he found her already sticking her arm inside the machine. When he stopped in front of her, she lightly pressed the cold drink against his cheek.

"Here ya go.

"Thanks! Whoa, how'd you know I liked this one?"

"Observant owl over here."

"Right."

Mizuha laughed softly to herself. Her fingers twitched by her side as she held herself back. Her body nearly acted before she even thought about what she was about to do. She wanted to give him a hug. She wanted to hug her friend… but she was feeling shy about it.

So instead, she settled with her words.

"Happy birthday, Kirishima."

Kirishima smiled. "Thanks, Mizuha."

* * *

It was almost November. The day of the Cultural Festival was getting closer.

Mizuha and Byakuren were walking back to the dorm together. They had left to go check on the equipment in the gym now that it was theirs for the festival. The others were getting ready for a final practice back at the dorm. On the way back, Byakuren ended up talking about the Beauty Pageant, saying stuff about how Kendo was keeping him up to date with how things were rolling for them. That made Mizuha wonder how he knew that. He replied by saying that he knew how to communicate with others despite not being a social butterfly unlike someone he knew (he gave her a look, causing her to shove his side). He was actually the first after Mizuha and Midoriya to find out about the contest. When he reported the information to his class, Mineta went nuts. Aizawa thought it would be a waste of more time if they learned about the pageant considering how they couldn't even come up with something to do for the festival.

"But y'know… your Quirk would be so appealing for the Beauty Pageant."

"Excuse me?"

Byakuren gave her a fox smile. "Think about it. The idea you suggested with the water. You could make things look super nice with water droplets and stuff." he told her while making water-like movements with his hands. "Water floating around while you do something wearing… probably a blue dress or something."

Mizuha scoffed. "You'll find me dead before you see me in a dress. I would never participate in something like that."

"I'm just saying."

Out of habit, Mizuha looked behind her and found a lone person farther away while walking in the same direction as them. It was the student who was with Aizawa when she was sitting under the trees. She looked back in front of her to not run into anything by accident. But then she happen to hear some trash talking about her class' upcoming performance. Byakuren had to drag her away back inside the school quickly before she found out who said it. He knew that she was working hard to make sure that the performance was going to go well, and hearing someone shit on her work was never a good thing unless they wanted to sleep in water at night. He's seen the consequences of her wrath in the middle school.

Mizuha found Todoroki sitting outside on a bench so she decided to wait outside with him while Byakuren went back inside. He greeted her while putting away a letter he was reading.

"Oh, if you wanted to read it alone, I could go inside."

"No, it's fine. I was already done reading it."

"Is it a letter from your mother?" she asked while taking a seat next to him. He nodded with a soft smile. "I was a little upset that I couldn't visit her as much… thankfully communication through letters makes up for my lack of visits."

Mizuha found it rather sweet that they were communicating through an old fashioned way. In this modern age, people could easily send a message through text or through the internet. Sending letters seemed to have more sentimental value considering how thoughts and feelings are hiding behind each word on the paper.

"She actually mentioned you in this one."

Mizuha gave him a surprised look. "Huh? But why? Don't tell me my brother dropped by unexpectedly again?!" she freaked in a panic. She was ready to get out her phone and scream a whole novel at him.

Todoroki shook his head. "No, she was responding to how I described the way you used your ice which I used as inspiration for my extra lessons." he looked her with a small smile. "She said you must be very creative. She also said that she hopes I am getting along well with you."

That last bit made Mizuha laugh a little. "You made a rip off of my ice or something?" she asked in a joking manner. Todoroki opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off when her phone started ringing out of no where. Curious, Mizuha took out her phone. It was her brother, and he was requesting for a video call.

"Wonder what he wants…" she muttered before gliding her finger across the screen.

 _"Mizuha! Hey! How are you doing?"_

"Good."

Todoroki peeked at the screen, revealing himself to the older Hyoumei.

 _"Oh! Hey, Todoroki!"_

"Hello."

"Did you need something?" Mizuha asked curiously.

 _"Nah, I was just wondering how things were going with the preparations for the Cultural Festival… since y'know? I can't come and watch."_

"It's going well. Do you want me to set up a camera somewhere so you can watch a recording of our stuff?"

Shiran shook his head with a smile. _"Nah, nah. It's fine. I don't want you going the trouble when you're busy. I'll be looking forward to hearing about it. So, just enjoy yourselves._ " He said with a grin on his face. _"By the way, why are you and Todoroki sitting outside in the afternoon like anime characters?"_

"What? We can't get some air?"

Before Shiran could say something, Todoroki and Mizuha heard a door open in the background, prompting Shiran to whip his head back.

 _"Oh, Endeavor!"_

 _"There you are. I know you're on a break but— Shoto?!"_

Mizuha saw Endeavor freeze up when he saw his son on Shiran's screen. He immediately looked delighted to see him. _"Shouto!"_

"Hang up." Todoroki grunted.

"Huh?"

The last thing Shiran and Endeavor saw was Mizuha looked at Todoroki with a startled expression, and Todoroki pressing his index finger on the red 'hang up' button.

Todoroki looked away with a frown on his face.

It was brief. But she saw his face. It did not look the same as the one saw she during the Sports Festival. He didn't look obsessed with something. He looked different. She could even hear it in the tone of his voice. Endeavor was different from the Endeavor she saw months ago. She was sure of it.

"… Hey, is it just me or is your father different from back during the Sports Festival?"

He sighed. "I guess you could say that."

"Does he want to change?"

It took a few seconds for him to reply with a good answer, "He wants to be a father that I can be proud of."

Mizuha tucked away her phone in her pocket. "That's good." she said with a nod. "It's actually better than not doing anything at all."

Todoroki nodded his head once. "I am actually wondering how he'll change." he admitted. "I know it's possible. People _can_ change."

Mizuha closed her eyes and nodded. "That's true."

* * *

The next day…

It was finally time for the Cultural Festival. Mizuha had woken up early to make a final check of the lights in the gym to make sure they were all functioning (and to make sure no one tried sabotaging them or something). She also brought Sho along with her since she didn't really have time to walk him around afterwards. On the way back to the dorm, Midoriya was already on his way out to buy a new rope. He quickly reassured her that he wouldn't take too long.

When she returned, everyone was anxious and panicking.

"Has anyone seen my shirt?!" Kaminari yelled.

"You're wearing it!" Mizuha shouted while picking up a box.

"Oh right."

"Everyone! Gather all your things together! We need to be at the gym in less than ten minutes!" Iida instructed with a loud voice.

…

…

…

"Mizuha! Can you help me tie my tie!" Ashido whined while holding the article in her hand.

"Ask Byakuren, he knows how to tie one properly."

"Thanks!"

The show was starting very soon. Everyone was behind the red curtain backstage. Most of the boys were taking a peek outside to watch the gym slowly fill up with students. Chatter could be heard everywhere. Mizuha was looking over everyone to make sure everything was alright.

She found Bakugo twirling the drumsticks between his fingers with an impatient look on his face somewhere in a corner. Her eye twitched in annoyance when she saw something out of place. Her feet immediately marched over to his corner. Bakugo sensed her incoming presence and scowled, asking what she needed with his face. The girl didn't say anything, she only reached for his neck and started pulling out the collar of his black long sleeve shirt underneath the orange short sleeved one.

"Oi! The hell—?!" he tried batting her hands away. But she only shook him by the collar to stop his fidgeting. "Stop moving! I'm fixing your damn collar!"

Bakugo lowered his hands and looked away. "Since when were you such a damn perfectionist, Mole Face?"

"Since I heard talk people talk shit about our performance." She retorted while sharply tugging his collar. The first image that popped in Bakugo's head were the two students he saw talking about them. It instantly made him roll his eyes in annoyance. "Those shitheads won't know what hit them once we start playing."

"Exactly. The music and effects are perfect. Don't give them an excuse to find a flaw." She scoffed before removing her hands away from him. "There, now don't touch it." she warned him while poking her finger in his chest. He narrowed his eyes at her and then watched her fuss over Hagakure.

Yaoyorozu and Byakuren, who were watching Mizuha move from one classmate to another, smiled together.

"She's really serious about the performance." Yaoyozoru remarked.

"Of course," Byakuren put his hands in his pants pockets. "It's the first time she's putting her heart into a class collaboration. She doesn't want it to go to waste."

"She was on top of everything." Todoroki joined them. "There was a lot to remember to for the performance… but she remembered every single detail."

Byakuren nodded. "Right?" he chuckled softly as he watched MIzuha fix smooth down Kaminari's hair. "She can be pretty amazing."

* * *

Mizuha bit her lip and watch the back door anxiously. Midoriya was still missing. The gym was getting much more people than they thought. It was almost time to start too.

 _Gah… I can't believe I let the possibility of Midoriya being late slip my mind. We should have came up with a plan B if things didn't work out… Damn it…_

A wave of relief washed over her when she saw Aoyama and Midoriya rush into the gym through the door. She nearly hugged the life out of the green haired boy.

"Hyoumei-san! I'm here! I'm sorry for worrying you!"

"Don't worry about it. Just hurry up and get changed." Mizuha instructed before joining her team above.

Kirishima glanced in her direction when he saw her come up. "He's here?"

"Yeah!"

"Finally." Sero slumped his shoulders in relief.

Mizuha went to her spot where Todoroki, Sero and Kirishima were and looked down below, waiting for Midoriya to take his place before dimming the lights. The cheering of crowd soon died down, silence fell upon the whole gym.

"LET'S GO, DAMN IT!"

Mizuha flinched when the light of Bakugo's explosion went off. That was the signal. By the time Byakuren blew away the smoke, the music was already and playing and their classmates began dancing. Mizuha was drumming her fingers against the rail, anticipatingly waiting for the chorus to start. When it did, Yaoyorozu created confetti, and when Todoroki and Sero used their Quirks too, Mizuha let out a stream of water that separated and become scattered water droplets. They were reflecting light thanks to Koda's work with his birds, making light flicker softly as they passed through the water.

Eri blinked when she saw ice flying towards her. In her eyes, she thought saw a little fairy. When it got closer, she realized it was a little ice dog… shaped like Sho.

From above, Mizuha could already see the girl. She caught sight of Eri's smile when she looked up to follow the flying ice dog with her eyes.

Eri pointed at Mizuha and smiled while saying something to Togata. The blond student looked up at her and waved a hand with Eri.

Mizuha smiled widely. _There it is._

* * *

Mizuha and Bakugo were together at the outdoor sinks, they were helping with getting rid of the ice by blowing it up and melting it.

"Did you see those guys who talked shit about our performance yet?" Mizuha wondered curiously. Bakugo only shrugged with scoff. "They probably ran away in shame or something." he grunted before blowing up the huge ice in front of him.

"Class A!"

Mizuha and Bakugo looked behind them. There was a lot of students walking past them and complementing their show.

"We had a lot of fun!"

Kirishima stopped pushing the ice cart. "Oh, thanks!"

"Yeah… it was fun. Good job."

Bakugo narrowed his eyes at the student with long chin who spoke. Mizuha didn't like the look at that guy's face. He didn't have the happy looks that the other students around him had. Neither did that girl next to him... But all of a sudden...

"Sorry!"

"We watched it to criticize it! We're really sorry!"

The two scampered away in shame, leaving a trail of dust behind them. Mizuha scoffed with a smirk on her face. "Hah! Take that!" she stuck her tongue out.

"Hurry up and finish cleaning up all the ice!" a familiar voice yelled followed by some quick footsteps.

Before Bakugo and Mizuha could even turn their heads to see who spoke, there was a splash of warm water… that was a little too hot for comfort. The two students at the sink let out a simultaneous shout.

"Ughh! What the hell?!" Mizuha hissed angrily. "Fuck!" she quickly chilled her arm.

"I'll blow you away!" Bakugo shouted at the shorter purple haired student, seething with rage.

"I just wanted to— GYAAH!"

It took six people to hold back Bakugo and Mizuha from destroying Mineta.

"I know where you sleep Mineta!" Mizuha threatened as Kirishima and Iida pulled her away.

* * *

After attending the Beauty Pageant that Mineta was so eager to see (and willing to risk his life against Bakugo and Mizuha's wrath), Mizuha ended up hanging out with Byakuren for a while. Eri seemed a little disappointed that she was not sticking around but Mizuha promised that she would join them later. The girl actually wanted to enjoy herself a little before going around with Eri. Byakuren literally dragged her away with how tight he was holding onto her wrist, practically whisking her away with his Quirk.

First thing on their list was to grab some food. When Mizuha and Byakuren lined up for some food at the stall that was on the flyer that Mizuha got from that Business Course student. Mokuen happened to be right in front of them. Turns out that Class B's play was happening at the same time as Class A's performance. The maroon haired girl was so disappointed that she missed it.

After parting ways with Mokuen and getting their food, Byakuren stretched his arms and smiled as he stared up at the sky. "Man, I can't wait to go around! Are you ready?"

Mizuha yawned. "Pretty tired after that whole performance."

Byakuren looked at her.

…

…

…

"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Byakuren was pinching her cheek. "You're not going anywhere, young lady."

Mizuha slapped his hand away. "I'm not going anywhere! I'm just saying I'm tired."

The white haired boy sighed, baffled. "I don't get how you're not bursting with excitement for these things. What did you do the whole time during Cultural Festivals in middle school?"

"… Well, after I got some food... and after you stopped dragging me around… I would probably wander around the school to find a quiet place. The roof, the library, an empty classroom… I just found it a little boring."

Byakuren put an arm around her and dropped his hand on her head, ruffling her head. "Well, you're not doing that this time. I promise, you're going to have fun."

Mizuha chuckled softly, she poked his side. "Don't worry. I want to enjoy my first high school Cultural Festival."

He snickered. "Well said! Let's go!"

* * *

Mizuha ended up winning some manga markers and a stuffed animal. Byakuren got them some oden to eat while they went around. They went just about everywhere. They even watched as Bakugo repeatedly tried to beat All Might's record in a game, he failed each time. Obviously, they didn't stick around with Kirishima, Sero and Ojiro who kept watch Bakugo.

"Hyoumei!"

Byakuren and Mizuha looked around for the person who called. It sounded like Togata.

"Over here!"

They found Aizawa, Midoriya, Uraraka, Tsuyu, Togata and Eri standing in a less crowded area. The blond third year was waving at her vigorously with a smile on her face. Eri was standing next to him with a balloon tied around her wrist. Mizuha went over to them and waved.

"Are you having fun?" Togata asked cheerfully when he spotted the plastic bag she was carrying.

Mizuha nodded with silent excitement. Her eyes were wide and she a grin on her face. Byakuren laughed and pulled out the stuffed animal she won from the previous booth they visited. "She even won this stuffed animal! She seriously wanted it because it looked like Sho!"

"Ooh! It does, doesn't it?" Togata looked at Eri. "What do you think?"

"I thought it was Sho." Eri replied while staring at the white fluffy stuffed animal. This caused Byakuren to get down on his knees and hold it out to her. "Wanna hold him?" he offered her with a gentle smile. Eri stared at the stuffed animal, reaching her hands out hesitantly. Her red eyes looked at Mizuha for confirmation. The older girl only nodded with a small smile.

Eri hugged the stuffed dog with a happy smile.

"You can have it, Eri."

Eri looked up at the girl in surprise. "Really…? I can?"

"Yeah. It's not the real thing but at least you can have a Sho too."

Eri smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

Mizuha gave her a small smile in response.

Uraraka bounced over to Mizuha. "Get this, Midoriya entered a Hero quiz earlier. He went all fanboy on it and answered all the questions correctly!"

Mizuha looked at the green haired boy. "Seriously?"

Uraraka nodded. "He even answered a question before he could even hear it." she added before doing her best impression of the fanboy Midoriya she witnessed. A deadly serious expression on her face with bloodlust in her eyes. "Seven minutes and thirty-one seconds."

Midoriya covered his face. "It was All Might's legendary debut video…" he explained. "I've seen it so many times as a child…"

"It was clear that the fanboy god walked among us." Tsuyu remarked.

Byakuren suddenly let out a boisterous laugh. "Oh my god! What a coincidence! You'll never guess where she won," Byakuren fished out the manga markers in her plastic bag, causing Mizuha to look away. "These! There was an anime quiz somewhere over in the back! She entered for _Whiten_ and got all the answers right!"

Mizuha snatched the markers out of his hands. "Yeah! And I'm proud! I watched that show before my teenage years and I loved it! I basically grew up watching it!" she defended herself before anyone could make a fangirl remark about her.

She nearly backed out of that quiz twice. Byakuren, seeing how his friend's eyes were fixated on the manga markers, kept her in the quiz by staying by her side like a parent. After the game, however, Mizuha ended up rubbing her sleeves against her arms when they walked away. Needless to say, it freaked him out since he didn't know about it. He went hunting for Recovery Girl.

"Aw, I know Mizu-chan." Byakuren placed a hand on his chest and patted her head.

"Get off, Byakkun." Mizuha groaned.

Midoriya looked at the time on his phone and gasped. "Um… hey guys. I need to go somewhere real quick."

"What's wrong?" Togata asked.

"You're leaving?" Eri asked sadly.

"No, no! I'm coming right back! I just need to go somewhere!" Midoriya quickly said to reassure the girl. "I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, Eri-chan! Don't worry!"

"…Okay."

"I'll be back soon! I just need to take care of something first!" he said before dashing off to who-knows-where.

Byakuren decided to leave Mizuha with the group since it consisted of people that Eri already knew. He felt like an outlier. He went back to find Bakugo's little group that was probably still waiting for him to beat All Might's record.

…

…

…

Eri's group ended up running into Todoroki, Iida, Koda and Tokoyami.

"Wasn't Midoriya with you guys?" Todoroki asked when he saw no sign of the green haired boy. Uraraka frowned and glanced at Eri. "He said he had some business to take care of… Then he ran off."

"… I don't know where he went." Eri said dejectedly while hugging plushie-Sho.

Mizuha and Togata exchanged looks. She shrugged, expressing that she didn't know how to cheer her up. The latter quickly brought a smile to his face. "Don't worry! I bet that at the speed he was going , he just needed to go to the bathroom! He'll be back before you know it!"

"… Oh, okay."

Mizuha sweatdropped. _Yeah that didn't work._

"Eri, do you like cats?" Aizawa suddenly asked. Mizuha actually forgot he was there from how silent he was. "How about we try the Cat People Café?" he proposed in an attempt to cheer her up.

The name already piqued Eri's interest. "Cat people? Are they cats or people?"

The students that were accompanying Eri all nodded.

"Hey, if you bump into Deku, tell him we went to the Cat People Café!" Uraraka told Todoroki and Iida before walking off with the others.

* * *

According to Aizawa, one of the second year classes were holding the Cat People Café. Mizuha didn't imagine that she'd be seeing males in maid outfits and cat ears. She nearly ran out of the place laughing. Upon seeing Togata and Aizawa, some of the second year males started running away to hide in the backroom screaming about how their reputation was ruined, leaving Eri confused.

Eri immediately wanted to try the apple pie that was displayed on the big menu at the entrance. The apple pie was enough to temporarily distract her about Midoriya's absence. The girls of the group took that chance to try some of the sweets that they had. Tsuyu and Uraraka got crepes while Mizuha got a piece of vanilla cake with blue icing.

"It's so good!" Uraraka gushed.

"It's so sweet." Tsuyu smiled.

"It's a combination of my favorite things… Vanilla and blue." Mizuha laughed to herself before taking a bite.

"How's the apple pie Eri-chan?" Togata asked the child while she chewed.

"Yummy!"

"Ah, Eri…" Mizuha grabbed a napkin and wiped Eri's chin.

* * *

Midoriya returned after making a candied apple back in the dormitory kitchen. It took him a pretty long while to finish it. Thankfully, Todoroki was the one who informed Mizuha, when she called, about Midoriya. She secretly told Aizawa to not leave just yet so that Midoriya can see Eri off while giving her the treat he made her. They both watched her leave in the car before returning to their respective dormitory. The girl had to fill in on what they did during his absence since he was eager to hear about Eri's enjoyment at the Cultural Festival.

Many booths and stalls were left deserted around campus, the cleanup could wait for the next day, everyone was tired from the fun day. After showering, Mizuha joined the rest of her class in their little toast for their hard work for the past month. Instead of drinks, they ate candied fruits that were gifted to some people in their class for helping out with a stall.

…

…

…

"We went to the haunted house!" Ashido exclaimed.

"It was super scary!" Hagakure flailed her arms. "Right, Kaminari?"

"Uh-huh! I swear… that Shinsou from the General Course was freaking dripping with blood! Scary!"

"I nearly pissed myself…" Mineta mumbled.

"Where did you two go?" Tsuyu asked the Yaoyorozu and Jiro.

Mizuha's could barely keep up with everyone's own story from the day. She was sitting between to the arm rest of the couch and Kirishima. Uraraka and Hagakure convinced her to stay down in the common room to hang out a little longer to exchange their experiences. Bakugo, Tokoyami, Shoji and Byakuren were the only ones who went to bed, tired from the long day. She was tired too. She felt ready to head to bed after brushing her teeth, the long day was getting to her too since her eyes were starting to close without her consent.

She figured they were talking about Bakugo's group since she heard his name. But she couldn't quite catch what they were saying… she was… just...

"What did you do with Kyouran, Mizuha?"

"…"

When they heard no reply, they all looked at the girl who was supposed to say something. Jiro, who was sitting diagonally from her, caught a glimpse of her face that was shadowed by her sweater's hood. The short haired girl quickly looked at the others and held up a finger to her lips. Mizuha was sleeping. Knowing how Mizuha was such a light sleeper, everyone quietly tried to look at the sleeping girl's face. They never could actually see her sleep from up close since her ears picked up every damn thing be it breathing or even blinking.

The pink haired girl smiled. "She's probably tired from having so much fun today."

"Yeah," Uraraka agreed. "Byakuren said she had a lot of fun when they went around."

"I actually saw her and Byakuren bumping into each other while yelling when they played in front of a booth." Sero whispered. "They were probably playing a competitive game."

"She was running around too!" Hagakure added. "I saw her hiding behind Amajiki-senpai while Byakuren and Mokuen chased after her. She was all giggly!"

Ojiro laughed softly. "She was like a little kid on a sugar rush."

Tsuyu smiled with her eyes closed. "She always carries around such an apathetic face. It's nice to know that she can let loose with her inner child. It's cute."

Carefully, Kirishima lifted his hand. His hand slowly reached her the end of Mizuha's hood and pinched it. Slowly, he pulled it off her head. All of a sudden, Mizuha's eyes shot open, scaring Jiro and a few others.

"Oh shoot." Kirishima frowned. "Mission failed."

"Kirishima, you…!" Ashido started hitting him on the shoulder, making him yelp in pain. He tried fighting her off. "What did I do?!"

Mizuha took that as her cue to head to bed. She excused her self while drowsily yawning into her long sleeve. Followed by Todoroki and Satou who also decided to go to bed since they were also tired.

"Good night, you guys— ow!" Kirishima held his head and cowered away from Ashido who's eyes were blazing.

Once the three students were out of earshot, Ashido dropped herself on the couch and looked up sadly. "We just missed the chance of seeing Mizuha being carried away to her room like in a shojo manga."

The rest of the girls in the common room exchanged exasperated and knowing looks with each other. Ashido was always up for anything romantic since she never got to experience anything like it. Seeing it up and close was like the best thing she could get. Unfortunately, Mizuha's nature simply defied all her imagination and dashed all her hopes.

"Hah?" Kamnari frowned. "That's impossible. Mizuha wakes up so easily."

"You never know!" Ashido wagged her finger.

* * *

 **This chapter. was. fighting. me. I had so much trouble writing the second half even though I had everything planned out in a separate file. Thank god I finished it before finals squeezed the life out of me. I guess I could also blame the fact that I've been getting so hooked on Bleach again that I've been considering making a story for it... but anywayyyy... (Whiten was a reference to Bleach haha).**

 **About how Byakuren telling Mizuha that her Quirk would fit the Beauty Pageant, have you ever seen the dance of Aqua/Azura from Fire Emblem Fates? Yeah, you could picture that since that was the first thing that came to my mind.**

 **I'm glad people enjoyed how Class A worried over Mizuha in the last chapter!**

 **I'll be looking forward to your reviews! See you in the next chapter~!**


	32. Chapter 32: The New Era

**Hello! It's nearly been a month, and I'm honestly surprised how I persevered during my finals. Anyway, l** **ike I said in the last chapter, there would be 1-2 more chapters left before this story goes on hiatus... this is the last one. I took out some stuff so now this is the last chapter for now.**

 **On to the chapter!**

* * *

It was mid-November. Byakuren and Mizuha were greeted by shouts and confetti on the weekend. They were both born on the same day. They didn't know who found out, but the class worked together for four days to try and plan a surprise for the two. The past four days got Mizuha feeling a little confused since her classmates kept fidgeting and shushing whenever she was around while Byakuren got a little sullen from the secretive atmosphere. Needless to say, they were surprised when Kaminari and Kirishima suddenly popped confetti crackers in their faces when they came back after eating dinner with their families.

Before they left the school grounds, the two friends were coming back from a training session with Eijin. Actually, it was more of a training session between uncle and niece while the friend sat back and watched. He had nothing better to do and he figured watching his friend's current skill level in action.

Eijin explained to Mizuha that she already knew how to phase and point warp. From what he previously saw with her brother, he realized that he had more difficulty starting with phasing. He explained that he purposely made her learn how to point warp before phasing to make her job easier. Mizuha was able to realize that she actually did phase once during the raid. It was during her fight with Light when she basically used his attack against him when she pinned him against the wall (which her uncle reprimanded her for because it was dangerous). Now, it was up to her to able to phase without relying on point warping all the time. After minutes of sparring, Byakuren and Mizuha got ready to leave for dinner, and when they came back, they were met with the surprise.

Byakuren's mouth hung open while Mizuha stared at her classmates with her eyes wide open. For her, it was the first time in a long time that she had friends celebrate her birthday.

She was stupefied from the emotions that came crashing down on her.

To everyone's surprise, Mizuha kept staring at them while blinking a few times, completely unaware of the sensation of something rolling down her right cheek. It was only when Kirishima stopped smiling in front of her to stop and give her a puzzled look that she felt her teardrop. He nearly freaked out. Her arm hastily moved up to her face to wipe away her incoming tears. She was happy. She smiled to her classmates and joined them with Byakuren when Satou and Iida came out with a cake that was half vanilla and half chocolate.

Byakuren and and Mizuha blew out the candles together before everyone started clapping and demanding for a piece of cake.

The next week, Eri ended up in U.A.'s care. The students who were involved in the raid were brought to the room in the school where they found the little girl sitting and waiting for them on a couch. Aside from Eri and Hado, everyone went outside to get the full explanation from Aizawa.

"It looks like Eri was abandoned by her parents. And the head of the Shie Hassaikai, who's related to her by blood, has been in a coma for a long time, so she currently has nowhere to go."

Mizuha put her hand under her chin in a thoughtful manner. "For a long time…?" she mumbled. She could only wonder what would happen if her grandfather woke up. If the grandfather was the one who took her in after being abandoned but Chisaki was the one running the whole drug operation. Then maybe her grandfather didn't really do anything bad to Eri... would he retain custody over her after he woke up?

"And, you might've already heard from Aizawa-sensei," Togata pointed at his head. "but the horn that Eri's Quirk is released from is starting to get bigger again slowly."

"So, is she staying with Aizawa-sensei because he can stop her Quirk?" Mizuha guessed.

"She'll be staying at the faculty's dorm to be specific." Aizawa answered with a nod. "It'll be better than sending her to an orphanage. We'll see how she is and help her find a way to live with that great power. There are things we need to check, too… Anyway, we'll take things step by step."

Tsuyu pressed a finger on her chin. "That's sounds like a lot of work for you, Aizawa-sensei."

Togata immediately shot his hand up. "That's where I come in! I'm on a temporary absence from school, and I'm friend with Eri! I'm sure you're all busy, but stop by and visit sometime."

The first years nodded. "Of course!"

Amajiki put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If Eri's body and soul become stable, then the resurrection of the invincible man will not be far off."

Mizuha smiled a little at that possibility. From her peripheral vision, she saw something speeding towards her group. At first, she thought of ignoring it until she realized how small it was. Curiously, she looked at her left and saw one of U.A.'s little robots coming towards her with a wrapped package.

"What's that?" Midoriya asked.

"Oh, that," Aizawa said before the robot pulled its arm back and pitched the package at Mizuha's face who yelped and stumbled a little from the force. Uraraka and Tsuyu gasped.

"What the heck?!" Mizuha held her face in disbelief and looked at the older people of the group.

"The school's been trying out a way to delivery mail to the students." Aizawa said flatly as he watched the little robot roll away.

Kirishima winced. "And that's how they're delivering stuff? I hope my mom never sends me anything… You okay, Mizuha?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just annoyed." she replied while lowering her hand to pick up the package.

"It looked like you got hit by something soft though." Amajiki remarked.

Togata nodded. "Yeah, it just flopped off your face."

Aizawa looked at the two third years. "Sorry to be asking this of you already, but can you take care of her for a while?"

"Roger! We'll play Othello!"

"Can we join you?" Midoriya asked excitedly.

"Class A, go back to the dorm." Aizawa replied without missing a beat. "You have guests arriving soon."

"Guests?"

…

…

…

One the way back, Mizuha was eager to open the light package. Whatever was inside was wrapped in orange wrapping. When she ripped a whole in the middle, she found a card inside.

Kirishima peeked at the card. "Who's it from?"

Mizuha laughed. "Take a look."

The only things in the card were a smiley face along with a 'HBD MICCHAN' written in there. There was only one person who called her that.

"Ehh?! He got you a gift for your birthday!"

It was a sweater based off of his Hero Costume.

* * *

Kyourai breathed in the fresh air with his eyes closed.

He was given permission to leave the hospital for a while, but not without an officer and a Pro-Hero accompanying him. The news about his condition would no doubt appear in news articles the next morning. After all, it was their job to update the people on villains. That's what he was.

It was the evening. It was the perfect time to wander around without having to worry about people seeing his face. The police and the hospital thought it was best to let him go out at during the evening. This routine of walking outside for an hour occurred twice a week, and it currently happened to be the last time of the current week. The police made sure that the people accompanying Kyourai were not biased about their opinions of his crimes. They were people who just needed to do their jobs without making the man feel worse.

"So, Kyourai, where are you walking to this time?" the officer asked just after he set the timer on his phone.

The sand brown haired man stayed silent for a while, letting the wind brush the hair out of his face. His bangs were no longer covering his face. They were cut neatly and he got his hair trimmed thanks to a nurse in the hospital. It was improvement from the haircut he gave himself. His previous haircut was a disaster. He had cut his hair himself with the bread knife. He had gone crazy for a moment due to his messed-up memories. Thankfully, a man related to the girl he was trying to kidnap stopped him before he did anything dangerous.

For the past month, he had several mental breakdowns about his identity. According to the hospital, he was sort of brainwashed. Whoever was manipulating him had rearranged his memories by implementing false ones. Quirks like that were rare. He knew that was true. The fake memories were slowly unraveling from his real ones, creating a mess in his mind. He had trouble figuring out right from wrong. The process of his unraveling memories was slow and agonizing. Thankfully, he was slowly getting more stable.

"… If I'm not wrong, then my family should live around here… unless they moved out of that old house." Kyourai said softly after the wind passed.

The hero and the police officer exchanged uneasy expressions.

"I don't think that's a good idea." the Hero said.

Kyourai smiled sadly. "Can I see the house at least?"

"The house?" the officer repeated with a frown.

Kyourai nodded. "I don't think my family would want to see me, but I want to see the house I grew up in. Just seeing the outside would be enough."

"… How far is it?" the hero asked. The hero was willing to offer Kyourai some peace by visiting a nostalgic place. The purpose of the walks was to make him relax, and visiting his family home didn't seem like a bad idea to clear his mind. Nostalgia wasn't so bad.

"… Three blocks from here." Kyourai answered while pointing towards the north.

The walk to his family home lasted at least thirty minutes. They arrived at the house that had 'KYOURAI' on the name plate. Kyourai had to stand four meters away from the gate, just staring at the big house with a soft smile on his face. The longer he stood there, slowly he could see three small figures appear. Two boys and a girl playing in front of the gate with chalk in their hands. They were drawing on the bricks and the cement floor.

A several yellow circles to represent the sun and colorful lines to make a rainbow.

He could hear the faint laughter of children echoing in the neighborhood.

The older looking child faded away, leaving the two younger children laughing together.

He swallowed.

 _If only things could go back to innocent days…_

Kyourai shut his eyes.

 _Everyone would be back together. Safe and happy._

"Excuse me?"

The hero and the officer turned around when a woman's voice spoke behind them. They found a middle-aged woman and her daughter carrying grocery bags. The girl looked super excited to see the Pro-Hero.

"My daughter's a fan." the mother laughed as she patted her daughter's back.

"You're the Teleporting Hero! White!" The girl bounced happily

White smiled at the young girl. "Hey, there!"

"Oh, oh! Can I have your autograph?!" The girl asked while holding up the notebook she pulled out of her backpack. "Sure, kiddo. Why not?"

"Yay!"

While the girl quickly tried looking for a good marker in her bag, the mother approached the officer. He smiled kindly at the man. "Is there something wrong, officer?"

"Hm? Oh no, we were patrolling around the area. Haha."

"For a second there, I thought we had a villain around the area." the older women said in a joking manner.

"No, no. There's nothing to worry about."

Kyourai gulped. Slowly, he started turning his body towards the back to try and look at what was going on. He was sweating anxiously as he began showing his face to the woman and her child. The mother blinked and looked at the other person standing a few feet away from them, she gazed at the man watching them. Kyourai watched as the woman's face went from a normal face to a shocked one before suddenly twisting into an angered look.

She started screaming at him.

"GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM MY HOUSE!"

The daughter looked at her mother in shock after she took back her notebook. "Mom…?"

"GET THIS MONSTER AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!" she screamed before grabbing hold of Kyourai's jacket, dragging him further away from her home. He didn't fight her. He followed lifelessly.

"Ma'am! Please stop it!" the officer and hero shouted before separating the two. Kyourai stumbled as White pulled him away safely from the mother's grip.

She pulled out an apple from her grocery bag and pitched it at the villain. "GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HERE!"

"That's enough!" the officer yelled, grabbing her bag away just in case she threw something else. Kyourai was too busy cradling his head to look at the woman. He saw the red apple roll a few feet away from where it landed.

The girl who did nothing but watch the scene watched the villain pick up the apple and tuck it away in his pocket. Her purple eyes met his matching ones when he stood back up.

"Rion…?"

"Come, Kina!" The mother grabbed her daughter's wrist. She took back the grocery bag from the officer and marched to her house. But then she stopped. She looked back at Kyourai and glared at him. "Don't ever come near here! A villain is not a son of mine! Stay away from us!"

The three of them did nothing but watch as the two entered their home without another word. The door had slammed closed. The officer and the hero looked at the villain. Things were going so well until his mother showed up. He was actually smiling from the happy memories he remembered just by seeing the gate. Things just went south so quickly.

"Well, let's go back." Kyourai said, breaking the silence. He turned away from the house and started walking back the way they came from. "We don't want her to come back out and hit me again…" he laughed to himself.

"How's your head?" White asked worriedly.

"It's alright. A little bump will probably appear… nothing that can't be healed in a few days."

The sand brown haired man took out the apple from his pocket. The bright red apple was probably surrounded with bacteria after the tumble it took. That was fine. A dirty fruit. He saw himself. He chuckled humorlessly.

 _It's okay. I'm okay._

He took a bite out of the apple while he cried.

That apple was the last thing he would ever receive from her, and he would accept it wholeheartedly. He would accepted her hate. All of it.

Because he didn't deserve anything other than that.

* * *

It was a few days after the Pussycats came to visit the dormitory. The Pussycats were there to see them along with Kota. From what they told the class, Ragdoll was no longer operating as on-the-scene member of the group. She was working as a supporting member. They didn't want to risk letting go of All For One out of Tartarus for the purpose of returning Ragdoll's Quirk. It was too risky.

Presently, Mizuha was with her uncle in Gym Gamma after watching the Billboard Chart with some of her classmates in the common room. He had some free time and Mizuha wanted him to be with her while she trained. It wasn't because she needed help, she just wanted to have someone around. He had nothing else to do so he accepted some bonding time with his niece.

She was actually making use of her break from the Internships to train and become stronger.

Light, or Kyourai Rion, was declared innocent from his lack of free will in his villainous actions. The nation was divided about this issue. Many were enraged at the fact the Light was not simply thrown into Tartarus. Hearing about how his imprisonment was halted due to memory complications made them angry… hearing about the recent news didn't make things any better. Meanwhile, some people were being sympathetic about his situation.

He wasn't quite sure how his niece was reacting to the news.

"Mizuha."

"Hm?"

"… Did you hear about Light?"

…

Mizuha stared at her uncle with an unreadable expression. "Yeah."

He was talking about the guy who attacked her and tried to kidnap her. She recently found out that he was not directly involved with his crimes because of something that the hospital labeled as something related to brainwashing. There were no further details about his current condition. Once she read that online, she remembered staring up at the ceiling with conflicted emotions.

The first thing she thought was how terrible Light was feeling. However, that thought faded as soon as she started having doubts. Her mind was becoming a representation of the nation itself.

"As your blood-related guardian on school grounds, I've been given the right to be updated on the villain potentially posed a threat to you. So, I was aware of how he was doing. I even passed by a few times."

"Hmm… oh yeah?" Mizuha began her attempts to phase while still listening to her uncle talk.

"… A few weeks ago, he said he wanted to apologize to you."

Mizuha gave her uncle a weird look. "Huh? Why? It's like… not his fault, right?"

Eijin sighed. "To him, it is. They've told him many times that he couldn't help it, but he's willing to accept a villain's crimes as his own. He sees himself as the culprit of everything, no one else."

The girl was silent.

"To be honest, I don't know what's going to happen to him if he keeps thinking like this. It's pretty depressing. And people aren't really kind sometimes so…"

Slowly, Mizuha lowered her gaze and stared at the floor silently as her uncle kept talking.

 _He's making himself the villain? Why would he want to do that?_

Mizuha frowned.

…

…

 _He's being cruel to himself._

* * *

Kirishima and Mizuha came back inside after walking Sho around the campus. Earlier, on her way to the elevator, she ran into Kirishima who was on his way downstairs. When she told him she was going to walk Sho, Kirishima wanted to do it. He actually wanted to tag along to hang around Sho for a while. A walk turned into a run when Kirishima started bolting off ahead. Sho didn't even have his leash on, so he ran after him, leaving Mizuha to walk alone with herself. She didn't complain though, it was amusing to see the two run around and enjoying a simple joy of life.

The remains of that simple joy went flying out the window when a breaking news suddenly flashed on the tv in common room, catching everyone's attention. It was a live broadcast of a fight in Kyushu. It wasn't just any fight. It was a fight between a Nomu and the current Number One Hero. Seeing another Nomu definitely made Yaoyorozu feel uneasy considering her previous encounter with one.

Defeating that Nomu didn't look easy.

It wasn't until she witnessed Endeavor blow a building into bits and seeing that Nomu he was up against suddenly spit out several balls of Nomu that she decided to go look for her friend. She left her dog behind and went up to the fifth floor of the dormitory building. She knocked hastily several times on Todoroki's door as a way to tell him it was urgent. As she thought, she heard quick shuffling in the room before the door swung open.

He looked a bit annoyed by the interruption. He was in the middle of reading a letter from his lovely mother until someone came knocking. He wasn't expecting to find Hyoumei of all people behind his door, especially since he didn't know her to knock like that.

"Hyoumei? What's the matter?" he asked with a tone laced with concern when he saw the agitated look on her face.

"Come with me downstairs." Mizuha said urgently, taking his wrist and pulling him out into the hallway before shutting the door behind him. She quickly motioned to the elevator and ran to it with him following after her. "Your dad is on the news fighting a Nomu."

Todoroki got startled from that information. "What?"

The way she came knocking at his door, the look on her face… something was telling him that perhaps the situation was not in his father's favor. He was getting tense as he watched the numbers change in the elevator, indicating how close they were to seeing how his father was doing. As soon as the doors opened, Mizuha and Todoroki went over to the television.

They were just in time to witness a close up of his father getting struck by two of the Nomu's limbs. One struck him on the side while the other went straight to his face. The group sitting in front of the television collectively gasped in horror. Mizuha hissed and squinted her eyes, watching as Endeavor lost his fire in the air and simply dropped. The camera lost sight of him in the rubble and the smoke. It took a few seconds, but they were able to locate Endeavor's body and zoom in on it. The Nomu was simply standing next to it while looking around, looking uninterested at the fallen body next to it.

Todoroki's father was lying on the rubble, looking defeated.

Mizuha swallowed. _Come on. Please get back up, Endeavor…_

The Nomu began moving away from him.

Endeavor got back up to charge at the Nomu only to get knocked away effortlessly.

The people were being shown panicking as they ran, crying for help. It was chaotic. The reporter was telling the nation how they had no Symbol of Peace.

"Todoroki!" Aizawa's sudden voice brought Mizuha back to the common room. She couldn't even hear the words coming out of her classmates' mouths since she was too focused on the scene and her thoughts. "You already saw it?"

"I was the one who brought him here." Mizuha she held up her hand a bit while looking at Aizawa. "I figured it was right since that's his father on tv…"

"That's fine." Aizawa looked at the screen. "I was going to tell him about it. It wouldn't be right to leave him in the dark."

" _Don't just say whatever you want! Where are you looking at to come up with that, TV?!"_

 _"Stop that! It's not the time for it."_

 _"Look at that!"_ the boy shouted while pointing at the flickering flames. " _The flames are still bright! You can see that, can't you?! Endeavor's still alive and fighting! Stop letting something that isn't there get you down! Right now, for our sakes, who is his life?! Look!"_

The cameras focused back on the bright flames in the distance. That Nomu must have some ridiculous regenerating speed if it could stand being roasted alive like that.

 _"Endeavor is fighting… even as he suffers… and struggles… He's fighting!"_

"Come on…" Mizuha muttered, gently fisting the hem of her t-shirt. Her eyes were glued on the screen, and her heart was pounding against her chest at the suspense. All of a sudden, the light flashed brighter before flying up towards the sky. The camera was pointed at the light that was slowly turning into a small ball of light. His light then shined brighter and brighter, practically becoming the light in the sky itself. Then, it was quiet. Endeavor and the Nomu went crashing back down. Two Heroes rushed to catch the Number One Hero to break his fall. The camera quickly got a hold of the dancing flames on the ground and zoomed in on it. It revealed Endeavor, standing and holding up his right arm.

The Nomu was no longer moving, it was burnt and defeated.

Mizuha let out a heavy breath that she didn't even know she was holding back. Then, she heard clothes rustling next to her. She felt a knee brush against her leg. The girl turned her head and found Todoroki squatting down with his face pressed against the side of his hands, hiding the look of relief on his face.

"Todoroki." Mizuha said softly before also lowering herself down. She got down on her knees and put a hand on his back as a comforting gesture. She peered at his face a little. While keeping his face pressed against his fingers, he shut his eyes and lightly tilted his head in her direction.

"Your dad won!" Kirishima exclaimed as he went over to him with Yaoyorozu, Uraraka, Sero and Midoriya. Mizuha looked away from Todoroki to look at the others crowding around him, but a flash of blue caught her eye. Her eyes immediately glued themselves back to the screen.

"Blue flames?" Mizuha muttered while motioning for Midoriya to move aside a little so she could see. _Those flames…_

It reminded her of that night.

"Blue fire? How come?" Sero spoke as everyone straightened back up. There was a circular wall of fire around Endeavor and Hawks.

" _Yes, The League of Villains is here! It's the League member Dabi! He's surrounded Endeavor and Hawks with a wall of flames!_ "

Mizuha could never forget Dabi's face. His face was definitely something to remember. And those eyes, those cold piercing turquoise eyes…

Thankfully, the Pro Hero Mirko came jumping in before Dabi could attack the two, forcing him to retreat and disappear in in some strange liquid.

After it was over, Mizuha decided to retreat back to her room with Sho trailing after her. Todoroki took the elevator with her since he wanted to go back to his room too. He took that moment to thank her for quickly bringing him downstairs. It was something he actually needed to see for himself.

* * *

Two days later, Endeavor was released from the hospital and he went home to take it easy for a while. Aizawa drove Todoroki to his home so that he could see him. Other than that, nothing really happened at the dorm.

His fight against the Nomu had definitely made the nation realize that All Might's Era was over. It was Endeavor's era now. Perhaps it was also time to realize that it was time for a new symbol. After watching Endeavor's fight, Mizuha saw hope. He gave the people hope with his fight. He might as well be the Symbol of Hope instead.

Mizuha was staying up late, leaning back against her bed while she jammed her fingers on her control. Sho was resting on her lap as she played late into the night. She was wearing the sweater that Taishiro sent for her birthday (which she made sure to thank him for via text). It was comfy. She was seriously lost in her game that she didn't even realize how late it was. Everyone would surely be in a deep sleep by now.

All of a sudden, Mizuha heard a faint noise. It was brief, but it was enough to freak her out and pause her game. She turned her head and averted her eyes to look at some random corner in her room.

 _What on earth was that?_

The dorm didn't exactly have soundproof walls so the residents could actually hear things in the dorm if it were loud enough. Obviously, the noise was fainter if it came from another floor. That was probably the case right now. Still, it freaked out Mizuha a little. There was probably a reasonable explanation though. Just like when everyone freaked out about the noise haunting their dorm a while back.

She shrugged. "Whatever."

She resumed playing her game without giving the noise much thought.

…

…

…

Meanwhile, a certain green haired student was lying flat on his bed while staring up at the ceiling. He put his forearm on his forehead as he recalled the strange dream he had earlier. After using his Quirk in his sleep and nearly destroying his room, he tried his best to go to sleep… to no avail.

Midoriya turned on his side to face the wall. "All For One and his brother…" he muttered. "The One for All users… And why…"

He kept remembering his dream, especially that brief moment where the first user was in a dark room.

 _The older brother released his younger brother after doing the deed. The younger man moved away from the powerful man and refused to look at him._

 _"Maybe, now that you have power, you'll soon come to see things my way. It's only a matter of time." The big brother smiled. He put his hands in his pockets and began leaving the room. "Now, you should eat. I can only imagine how hungry you must be." he said nonchalantly before stopping outside the room and looking to his left. "Hiyori, bring in the food."_

 _Midoriya, in his current form that consisted of only his upper head and right hand, could see two shadows outside the room. One of them began moving once the older brother walked away into the hallway, a new person started entering the room._

 _"If you don't eat… you're going to get even more sick."_

 _A short young girl with blonde-hair and brown eyes came into view. Kind brown eyes. She was carrying a tray of food as she entered the room. The girl approached the younger brother with a sad look on her face. The younger brother looked up at her wordlessly._

 _If Midoriya could feel his mouth, he would have dropped it open with his eyes widening._

He could still feel the shock when he saw the younger girl's face.

Midoriya rolled back onto his back and stared up at his ceiling, his limbs spread out on his bed.

"Why did she have Hyoumei-san's face?" he whispered in the darkness of his own room.

…

…

…

Mizuha clicked her tongue in annoyance. This was probably the fifth time she lost against the boss. By now, her dog had waddled into his bed since his owner kept having silent rage fits, jolting him every twenty seconds. He even gave her an annoyed glance before going to sleep. It was amazing how Mizuha had so much self-control since she had the tendency to shout in frustration.

While containing a scream of rage, she decided to shut off her game, and nearly tossed her control towards the table until she remembered how it was nearly 3:50 AM. It was time to sleep and get ready for school in a few hours.

"Jumping into the new era with rage…" she muttered to herself.

* * *

 **WELL! THAT'S THE LAST CHAPTER FOR NOW! Yes, I'm really ending it like this with a mini cliffhanger. I apologize if it's a little shorter than you expected but I didn't want to jump into the next arc yet. This chapter had a lot of Kyourai in it. It might or might not be obvious now, but Kyourai Rion is actually a character that I like to call 'broken'. And because he's broken, I like him haha. I'm cruel** ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ **. Also, that birthday part was supposed to be longer with** **Mizuha feeling insecure 'cause everyone was being sneaky and stuff but I scratched that idea.**

 **Until season 5 or when the manga advances even further, I won't be updating this story for a while. Again, I'm not abandoning this story. I consider this my first story since I've actually loved writing it... so I don't see myself dropping it anytime soon. In the mean time, I'll be writing a new story for Bleach since I've been rewatching it again with my mom... we got plenty of time for bonding right now (thanks Covid-19).  
**

 **By the way, I got like a deviantart account (LawlessxSeeker), and I'm drawing stuff there like OCs from my fanfiction stories. You guys can check it out if you like (there isn't much to look at but hey I got so much time to draw now that school is out of my face. Bored as hell as over here). Just putting that out there in case y'all wanna see some Celsius Hero stuff.**

 **And another thing, I put up a poll for the pairing of the story. Yeah, this dummy author is still trying to figure it out. It's just to get an idea of what my readers wanna see.** **I'll leave it open during the hiatus and maybe after I release a few chapters when the story continues. You can vote for 2 people! It's on my bio page.**

 **Some replies!**

 **Frenchie Is French: Maybe if the manga shows Class A during their second year, I might consider putting her in the next pageant? Who knowsss. She'd probably look like a damn tomato floating in water from the anxiety though. My slow ass decision to pick a pairing is making Mizuha look like an idiot oh nooo.**

 **M: Guaranteed there'll be more when the story continues again!**

 **Padgent: The smiling part with Mizuha and Eri has been in my head since chapter 17! The thing with Mina never experiencing love is actually canon. I didn't know until I got curious about the Character Book Ultra Analysis thing. I laughed too but then I was like... "same ._." xD.** **I'm glad you'd support a Bleach story! I'm excited to start writing it as soon as I finish jotting down some more details (and come up with a damn title... it's so hard whyy).**

 **So, till next time! Love you guys! :D**


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